Storms of Fire: Awakening
by WyvernHandler
Summary: Second in the Storms of Fire Saga. Ember has to deal with a lot; jumping up and down the Doctor’s timeline, discovering powers that she must learn to control, and trying to uncover her unknown origins. And now she has two more dilemmas: not only has she been developing feelings for the Time Lord, she must now live with the idea that she failed him. Or does she?
1. Chapter One: The Runaway Bride

Ok, here's the first chapter of Storms of Fire: Awakening! Series Two of the Storms of Fire Saga!

Now, for those of you who haven't read Storms of Fire: The Beginning, it won't make much sense to you unless you read that first. I'm going to have a brief lowdown on what's going on so far, but it's better that you read Series One first.

Anyway, are we sitting comfortably? Here we go!

* * *

My name is Ember.

Or, rather, that's the name that seems to have stuck with me since coming to this universe, where instead of scenes in a tv show, events are very real.

_"The world you thought was fiction, is real."_

I don't know why, but I somehow jump from one point to another in the timeline of one specific Time Lord: the Doctor.

I'm mostly Time Lord myself, but there's a part of me that isn't. That part remains a mystery to me, though it seems that others are well aware, considering the titles I seem to have.

_"The Great Fire..."_

_"The Flame Immortal..."_

_"She who must not die..."_

_"The Predator of the Flames..."_

_"Mother of Elements..."_

And if that wasn't enough, I have powers too. So far, I can create and manipulate fire, though I can't always do it, and that's apparently only the start of what I can do. I sometimes have visions, a prediction of something terrible happening in the near future that I _have_ to change.

Because I've seen all of this on a tv show, I also have a rough version of foreknowledge, so I can sometimes change things. People who would have died didn't, people who might have been enemies are not, things like that.

But not always. I haven't been able to save everyone, even when I try to.

_"They didn't have to die!"_

_"I'm not letting go! We're **not** losing you!"_

And I now carry that guilt not only in my hearts, but on my face. And I have to look at it every day.

But I can't stop. I still have so many questions. And I can only find the answers if I keep going.

Little did I know, that I was going to learn so much, and not just about myself...

* * *

Chapter One: The Runaway Bride

* * *

The Tardis was orbiting a supernova, carrying two passengers - the Doctor and Ember - when it inexplicably took a third person on board: a woman with red hair wearing a wedding dress.

The Doctor looked more than confused. "What?"

"Who are you?" The bride - Donna, as Ember knew - asked.

"But-"

"Where am I?"

"What?"

"What the hell is this place?!"

"What?!" The Doctor looked at Ember, who shrugged unhelpfully, before he turned back to their new guest. "You can't do that. I wasn't... We're in flight! That is, that is physically impossible! How did-"

Donna looked furious. "Tell me where I am. I demand you tell me right now where am I?"

"Inside the Tardis."

"The what?"

"The Tardis."

"The what?"

"The Tardis!"

"The what?"

Ember found herself amused at the back-and-forth banter between the two, almost as much as she was when she saw it on tv.

The Doctor obviously was not as entertained. "It's called the Tardis."

"That's not even a proper word." Donna snapped. "You're just saying things."

"How did you get in here?"

"Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it."

"Who the hell is Nerys?" The Doctor asked.

"Your best friend!" Donna caught sight of Ember and went over to her, spotting the newly-healed scar on the brunette's left cheek. "Oh, my god, your face! Did he do this? He did, didn't he? What did he do to you?"

Ember was partly touched that Donna was concerned for her, even when they hadn't officially been introduced yet. The other part was not so happy; that scar was a physical reminder that she'd let someone down at the worst possible time. "No, he didn't..."

"Hold on, wait a minute." The Doctor cut in, not just to save Ember some discomfort but also because of something he'd only just noticed now. "What are you dressed like that for?"

"I'm going ten pin bowling." Donna sarcastically replied. "Why do you think, dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle! I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away, and then you, I don't know, you drugged me or something!"

"I haven't done anything!"

"I'm having the police on you! Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, we're going to sue the living backside off you!" Donna spotted the doors and went for them, pulling Ember with her by the hand.

The Doctor saw them move. "No, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't!"

He was too late to stop the redhead from opening the doors, but luckily she didn't run headlong out, or she would have ended up in space. The sight of a gaseous nebula made her stop in her tracks.

The Doctor made his way to their side, speaking gently. "You're in space. Outer space. This is my space ship. It's called the Tardis."

"How am I breathing?" Donna asked, not taking her eyes off the scenery in front of her.

"The Tardis is protecting us."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Ember," the brunette said, gently freeing her hand and moving to the other side of the bride.

"I'm the Doctor. You?"

"Donna."

"Human?"

"Yeah." Donna blinked as that set in. "Is that optional?"

"Well, it is for us."

"You're aliens..."

"Yeah."

They watched the supernova for a few more seconds before Donna shivered. "It's freezing with these doors open."

Taking the hint, the Doctor closed the doors and ran back up the ramp to the console. "I don't understand that and I understand everything..."

"No you don't," Ember said as she stayed with Donna.

"Hush, you," the Doctor shot back playfully before he rummaged around. "This, this can't happen! There is no way a human being can lock itself onto the Tardis and transport itself inside. It must be-"

He grabbed what looked like an ophthalmoscope and ran back over to them, using the device to look into Donna's eyes. "Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic-"

Slap! Ember winced as Donna landed a solid slap right across the Time Lord's face, making him stumble back.

"What was that for?" He asked incredulously before looking at Ember. "Why didn't you warn me?"

Donna looked more than furious. "Get me to the church!"

The Doctor went back to the console. "Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?"

"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System." Donna said before she spotted a purple blouse hanging over the railing. She grabbed it and waved it at them angrily. "I knew it, acting all innocent. I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted? Did you talk Ember into pretending to be an alien too?"

Ember moved to her side and took the blouse from her. "No, he didn't. I really am an alien too."

The Doctor had stopped moving when he saw the item of clothing, knowing who it belonged to. "That's our friend's."

"Where is she, then? Popped out for a space walk?"

"She's gone."

"Gone where?"

"We lost her." Ember muttered. She knew that was supposed to be the Doctor's line, but she couldn't help but feel a lump of guilt settle in her stomach. "Well, more like I did..."

"Well, you can hurry up and lose me!" Donna snapped, only to pause when she saw the heartbroken looks on their faces. "How do you mean, lost?"

The Doctor, who had tried to put his hand on Ember's shoulder only for her to move away to sit in the captain's chair, then turned back to the console, eager to drop off their guest so he could talk to the brunette. "Right, Chiswick."

Ember took a breath and carefully hung the blouse on the back of the chair, not wanting to wrinkle it too much. Her mind went back to what had happened not so long ago, and how she'd failed to save their friend...

It was the Tardis landing that brought her back to the present, and she looked up just time to see Donna and the Doctor move to the doors. She followed and waited in the doorway as the other two looked around the busy London street they'd landed in.

"I said, Saint Mary's." Donna said, unimpressed. "What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?"

"Something's wrong with her." The Doctor murmured, going back in the Tardis to check the console. "The Tardis, it's like she's... Recalibrating! She's digesting. What is it? What have you eaten? What's wrong? Donna? You've really got to think. Is there anything that might've caused this?"

Donna by now had seen how small the blue box was and was walking around it in disbelief. Ember stepped out to lean against the side as she watched.

"Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contact? I can't let you go wandering off. Not if you're dangerous. I mean, have you, have you seen lights in the sky, or did you touch something like something, something different, something strange? Or something made out of a... funny of metal or... Who're you getting married to? Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?" The Doctor had been rambling, but then he turned to see that Donna had now walked off, and gave chase. "Donna! Donna..."

"Leave me alone." Donna said to him when he caught up, neither of them commenting on how Ember was tagging along too. "I just want to get married."

"Come back to the Tardis..."

"No way. That box is too weird!"

"It's bigger on the inside, that's all..."

"Oh! That's all?" Donna checked her watch. "Ten past three. I'm going to miss it."

"You can phone them." The Doctor suggested. "Tell them where you are."

"How do I do that?"

"Haven't you got a mobile?"

Donna stopped and turned to face him. "I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is 'give me pockets'!"

The Doctor looked a little sheepish. "This man you're marrying. What's his name?"

"Lance." Donna replied with a dreamy smile.

"Good luck, Lance."

The smile was gone in an instant. "Oi! No stupid Martians are going to stop me from getting married. To hell with you!"

"I'm, we're not, we're not, we're not from Mars..." the Doctor mumbled as Donna stormed off.

Ember shrugged. "You're not. Dunno about me."

"You're definitely not," the Doctor said sincerely, taking her hand and feeling how tense she was. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," was the immediate reply, even though they both knew it wasn't true, but Ember didn't give him the chance to press her further as she led him to follow Donna. "Come on."

The Doctor frowned, letting her lead him to where Donna was currently trying to hail a taxi. He knew that she wasn't 'fine' at all, but he wasn't sure how to get it out of her.

They reached Donna as she attempted to wave down a taxi, only for it to ignore her. "Taxi! Why's his light on?"

"There's another one!" The Doctor tried, but was also ignored.

"Taxi!" Donna called to another one, but it drove past despite its 'For Hire' light being on. "Oi!"

"Do you have this effect on everyone?" The Doctor asked the redhead as he failed again to get a taxi to stop. "Why aren't they stopping?"

"They think I'm in fancy dress."

"Stay off the sauce, darling!" A driver called as he drove past them.

Donna rolled her eyes. "They think I'm drunk."

Two men were laughing in their car as one of them called "You're fooling no one, mate!"

"They think I'm in drag!"

A third man yelled as he drove the opposite way, but instead of teasing the bride, he addressed Ember. "Put some makeup on, love! It ain't Halloween!"

Ember froze, her hand going to cover the scar on her cheek. She knew it was quite different to look at, but it didn't occur to her that it was _that_ bad. So shocked was she that she didn't notice the Doctor glaring daggers at the man who'd shouted.

"Hold on, hold on." He said before putting his thumb and index finger in his mouth and making a loud, rather peircing whistle. The nearest Taxi screeched its tires as it did a u-turn to stop by them.

"Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road." Donna said as she climbed in with a bit of difficulty due to her wide dress. The Doctor helped Ember in before himself. "It's an emergency. I'm getting married. Just hurry up!"

"You know it'll cost you, sweetheart?" The driver said. "Double rates today."

Donna paled. "Oh, my God. Have you got any money?"

The Doctor glanced at Ember as she quickly looked through her wallet, only coming up with currency that was for a different country or even a different planet. "Er, no. Haven't you?"

"Pockets!" Was all Donna said.

"Um, would you take dollars?" Ember tried meekly.

A few minutes later, the three of them were out of the taxi, the Doctor closing the door with a slam as Donna gave the driver a piece of her mind.

"And that goes double for your mother!" She finished as the taxi drove off. "I'll have him. I've got his number. I'll have him. Talk about the Christmas spirit..."

The Doctor looked around, finally noticing the decorations in the streets and shop windows. "Is it Christmas?"

"Well, duh! Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve." Donna sassed before she spotted something. "Phone box! We can reverse the charges!"

"How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" The Doctor asked as they ran to the phone booth.

"Can't bear it. I hate Christmas. Honeymoon, Morocco. Sunshine, lovely." Donna grabbed the handset and faltered. "What's the operator? I've not done this in years. What do you dial? 100?"

The Doctor got out his Sonic and pointed it at the phone, surprising Donna when she heard the dial tone. "Just call them direct."

"What did you do?"

"Something... Martian. Now phone. We'll get money!" The Doctor pulled Ember with him as he ran to the nearest ATM machine, only to have to wait as someone was already there. It was comical to see the Time Lord bouncing on his feet in impatience until they were finally able to get to the machine, Ember sticking close so no one would see him use his Sonic to withdraw money. "Right, we get her to the wedding and then go. Easy."

"You think it's that easy?" Ember said, making him look at her. "Here's a hint; Donna's gonna need us around a bit longer. And keys are important. And remember last Christmas? Certain Santas?"

The Doctor followed where she was looking, to see what looked like several people in Santa outfits playing a Christmas song on brass instruments. "Oh, no."

"Taxi!" The Time Lords looked the other way as Donna hailed a taxi and got in, turning to them from the back seat. "Thanks for nothing, spaceman! I'll see you in Court!"

The Doctor spotted the driver - another Santa disguise - before the taxi drove away. He was about to go after it when Ember tugged his arm and pointed. The other Santas had now lowered their brass instruments to point them at the two.

Thinking fast, the Doctor pointed his Sonic at the ATM again, zapping it and making it spit out banknotes into the street. Passers by quickly ran forward to collect the falling money, providing a perfect distraction as the Doctor grabbed Ember's hand and pulled her with him, running back to the Tardis.

Ember closed the doors and then hung on to the railing as the Doctor piloted, making sparks fly even as he hit the console with a rubber mallet while shouting for it to behave. "Oi, don't hit her! How would you like it?"

"Then why don't you drive?" The Doctor asked, looking at her when she didn't answer. "You _can_ drive, can't you?"

The brunette shook her head. "Never had a licence for a car, nevermind a time travelling spaceship!"

"Right, well, no time like the present!" He ushered her over to the console and pointed out a few switches that he couldn't reach, and then positioned her at a control lever. Ember remembered that he had to tie string to this in the show. "Hold this and pull when I say!"

Ember watched as he ran to the doors and opened them to see that they were flying alongside Donna's taxi on the motorway. He called out to the red headed bride. "Open the door!"

"Do what?" Donna said, though Ember could barely hear her.

"Open the door!"

"I can't, it's locked!"

The Doctor braced his feet on the edge of the doorway and used his Sonic on the door of the taxi, though Donna only owned the window.

"Santa's a robot!" She said flatly.

"Donna, open the door!"

"What for?"

"You've got to jump!"

"I'm not flipping jumping! I'm supposed to be getting married!"

The taxi accelerated, getting ahead of them, and the Doctor looked back at Ember. "Now!"

Ember pulled the lever down, yelping as more sparks flew. The Tardis gave chase, bouncing off the roof of a car before getting beside the taxi again.

The Doctor Soniced the Santa driver, making it freeze and unable to accelerate any more, before he yelled to the bride in the back. "Listen to me. You've got to jump."

"I'm not jumping on a motorway!"

"Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good! Now, come on!"

"I'm in my wedding dress!

"Yes, you look lovely!" The Doctor quipped. "Come on!"

Donna opened the door, only to freeze as she saw the road rushing by. "I can't do it."

"Trust me."

"Is that what you said to her? Your friend? The one you lost? Did she trust you?" Donna looked past the Doctor to see Ember. "And you?"

"Yes!" Ember replied, even as her hearts clenched. Rose trusted her, but that didn't mean she was right to.

"Yes, she did." The Doctor added. "And she is not dead. She is so alive. Now, jump!"

After another moment's hesitation, Donna took a breath and jumped, ending up on top of the Doctor on the ramp. The Doctor used his foot to close the doors and looked up at Ember. "Hit the blue switch and pull the other lever!"

Ember did just that, taking the Tardis away from the motorway.

* * *

After landing the Tardis on a rooftop, the Doctor made Donna and Ember get out as he sprayed the inside with a fire extinguisher, waving away the smoke that was coming out of the blue box.

"The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying." He said, turning to face Ember. Donna was a few feet further away from them. "You did well for a first lesson."

Ember nodded. "Surprised I didn't mess it up."

The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it, making her look up at him. "You get very good at it, if it helps. We'd better give her a couple of hours." He looked at Donna, noticing that she was looking at her watch. "You all right?"

"Doesn't matter." Donna replied solemnly.

"Did we miss it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you can book another date."

"Course we can."

"You've still got the honeymoon." The Doctor tried to point out a bright side.

"It's just a holiday now."

"Yeah. Yeah. Sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Oh? That's a change." The Doctor squeezed Ember's hand again, making her give a small smile.

Donna shrugged. "Wish you had a time machine, then we could go back and get it right."

That made the Doctor hesitate as he and Ember moved to Donna's side. "Yeah, yeah. But even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently."

Donna moved to sit on the edge of the roof, looking out at the city. The Doctor saw her shiver and took off his jacket, placing it on the woman's shoulders in an attempt to shield her from the wind.

"God, you're skinny." Donna muttered as the Doctor sat on the edge next to her with Ember on his other side. "This wouldn't fit a rat."

The Doctor nodded at the quip. "Oh and you'd better put this on."

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" The redhead asked as she saw the gold ring in the Doctor's hand.

"He's not proposing," Ember pointed out. "It's not a wedding ring."

"Those creatures can trace you. This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden." The Doctor added, putting the ring on Donna's offered finger. "With this ring, I thee bio-damp."

"For better or for worse." Donna joked, looking at the ring before she sighed. "So, come on then. Robot santas, what are they for?"

"Ah, your basic robo scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. I met them last Christmas."

"Why, what happened then?"

"Great big spaceship hovering over London?" The Doctor looked at her. "You didn't notice?"

"I had a bit of a hangover."

Ember nudged him. "And she's not A positive."

The Doctor nodded, looking out at the city. "We spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate, with this family. Our friend, she had this family. Well, they were... Still, gone now."

Donna looked at them. "Your friend, who was she?"

"Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you?" The Doctor sidestepped the question as he leaned over to get his Sonic out of his jacket. "And how did you get inside the Tardis? I don't know. What's your job?"

"I'm a secretary."

The Doctor scanned her with his Sonic as he rambled. "It's weird. I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important."

Ember lightly slapped his arm. "Rude."

Donna also looked unimpressed. "This friend of yours. Just before she left, did she punch you in the face?" She slapped the Sonic away from her. "Stop bleeping me!"

The Doctor leaned back slightly. "What kind of secretary?"

"I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping. I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought I'm never going to fit in here. And then he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance, he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me. But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him. One cup of coffee. That was it."

"When was this?" The Doctor asked.

"Six months ago."

"Bit quick to get married."

Donna shrugged. "Well, he insisted. And he nagged, and he nagged me. And he just wore me down. And then finally, I just gave in."

The Doctor looked at Ember with a raised brow, smirking when she made a reversing gesture to indicate that it had gone the other way around. "What does HC Clements do?"

"Oh, security systems. You know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths."

"Keys..." the Doctor mused, Ember's hints coming to mind.

"Anyway, enough of my CV." Donna said as she stood up, followed by the Time Lords. "Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy."

"Yeah. I'm not from Mars."

"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's going to be heartbroken."

Ember winced. She couldn't be more wrong.

* * *

After making their way to street level and getting a taxi (one that didn't have a robot Santa driving it), the Doctor, Ember and Donna found themselves at the reception party that would follow the wedding.

Donna had been expecting sad and worried faces when they stepped into the main hall, but was thoroughly shocked to find the party in full swing. Music was playing and the guests dancing, though each of them stopped when they saw who'd walked in. Even the music stopped.

"You had the reception without me?" Donna asked.

A dark-skinned man in a suit approached her from where he'd been dancing with a girl. "Donna, what happened to you?"

"You had the reception without me?"

The Doctor chose the wrong moment to speak. "Hello. I'm the Doctor, and this is Ember."

"They had the reception without me." Donna said again.

"Yes, I gathered."

"Well, it was all paid for." The woman who'd been dancing with the man said. "Why not?"

Donna gave her a dirty look. "Thank you, Nerys."

"Ah, so that's Nerys," the Doctor murmured to Ember, who nodded.

An older woman that Ember recognised at Donna's mother, Sylvia, stepped forward. "Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end. 'I'm on Earth'? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick, because I'd love to know."

Everyone suddenly started talking at once, asking where Donna had been, how she'd left the alter, if it was last minute jitters, and all sorts. The Doctor carefully stepped back with Ember as Donna looked flustered.

Then the bride burst into tears, and everyone stopped their questioning as the man - presumably Lance - hugged her. As the crowd applauded and parted to let them through, Donna was able to sneak a wink at the Doctor and Ember, letting them know that she was faking it.

It wasn't long before the party was in full swing once again, now with Donna dancing with her groom. Ember was stood to one side, near the bar, trying to ignore the stares people were giving her when they thought she wasn't looking.

Her watch chose that moment to beep and remind her to take her medication, and she'd just taken the pill without water when she felt a tug on the bottom of her jacket, and she looked down to find that three children had approached her: two boys in suits and a girl in a pretty pink dress. "Um... hi?"

"What happened to your face, miss?" The girl asked.

"My mommy says that your boyfriend did it to you," one of the boys added, pointing.

Ember followed the tiny finger to where the Doctor had asked someone for their phone so he could do a check of HC Clements. "Um, no, he didn't do it. But you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you what really happened..."

"Please tell us," the girl said, putting on her best smile despite a missing front baby tooth. "We'll believe you, honest."

"Um..." she couldn't tell them the truth, at least not all of it. "Ok, but you have to promise that you won't tell a soul, ok?"

The children beamed as they chorused "We promise!"

"Ok," Ember knelt on one knee so she could lower her voice. "I got it by fighting an alien."

The children looked at her with wide eyes. "Really?" The girl asked.

Ember nodded. "Cross my heart." She was glad she remembered not to say hearts.

The last boy shook his head. "Was the alien bad?"

"Very. Not all of them are bad, though. Just like people. There are nice ones too."

"Wow, you're like Supergirl!" The girl said.

"Or Wonder Woman!" The first boy added.

Ember blushed at the praise, only to jump when she heard a chuckle behind her before the Doctor spoke. "She's a superhero, alright."

The girl looked up at him. "Are you a hero too?"

The Doctor tapped the side of his nose with his finger. "But you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"We promise!" The children chorused again before they ran off, probably to go tell their parents or their friends what they'd heard. Ember stood straight and turned to the Doctor.

"How much did you hear?" She asked, trying to hide the blush.

The Doctor smiled. "From the part where you were fighting an alien."

Ember's blush darkened as she looked away. "Well, I couldn't exactly tell the rest; that I failed to save our friend." She didn't see the Doctor frown. "Anyway, there's a guy over there with a camera. He filmed the whole thing."

The Doctor watched her walk away, feeling his hearts twist at the amount of self-blame that was in her voice. He sighed before he followed, reaching Ember as she just asked the man about his camera.

"Oh, I taped the whole thing." The young man said as he set up the camera. "They've all had a look. They said 'sell it to You've Been Framed.' I said, 'more like the News'. Here we are."

Ember and the Doctor watched on the camera the moment when Donna let out a scream and turned into what looked like gold energy that flew off.

"Can't be..." the Doctor murmured. "Play it again?"

The man did so, letting them see it again. "Clever, mind. Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping."

"But that looks like Huon Particles..."

"What's that then?"

"That's impossible. That's ancient. Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years."

Ember put her hand on his arm. "And what's the advantage of being that old?"

"So old that..." the Doctor looked up, easily spotting Donna in the crowd and the ring that was supposed to protect her. "...it can't be hidden by a biodamper!"

He ran off, heading outside, while Ember quickly made her way through the dancers to get to Donna. "Um, sorry, but there's a problem."

"What's wrong?" Donna asked.

Ember ignored how Lance openly stared at her face. "The ring isn't working. They've found you."

Donna blinked as the Doctor came back in and ran over to them. "But you said I was safe."

"The bio-damper doesn't work." He said. "We've got to get everyone out."

Donna looked around at the guests. "My God, it's all my family."

"Out the back door!" The Doctor led them to the door, only to find several robot Santas. "Maybe not."

"We're trapped." Donna said as they looked out of the window at the Santas.

Ember pointed to one in particular. "Guess what other old trick they've got?"

The Doctor spotted the remote control in the robot's hands, turning to look at the giant Christmas trees that were in the party hall. "Christmas trees."

"What about them?" Donna asked.

"They kill." The Doctor ran over to where people were dancing near the trees. "Get away from the tree!"

"Don't touch the trees!"

"Get away from the Christmas trees! Everyone get away from them! Everyone stay away from the trees! Stay away from the trees!"

Ember went straight for a small group of children that included the three she'd talked to earlier. "Come on, kids, let's get back, just to be safe."

The kids followed her, wide eyed and without a fuss, as Sylvia spoke. "Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot. Why? What harm's a Christmas tree going to... Oh!"

Everyone looked, most of them in awe, as the plastic baubles began to float off of the trees. It was almost like a magic show... Until they started to zoom at the people and explode on impact.

People panicked and ran about, presents flying and even a man sent into the wedding cake. Donna pulled Lance with her under a table as Ember ushered the children under another, shielding one little girl as a bauble exploded nearby; she felt the shards of plastic scratch her hands. On the other side of the room, the robot Santas had gotten in, controlling the decorative projectiles from where they stood by the bar.

The Doctor had somehow made his way behind the DJ's sound desk, and stood with a mic in one hand and his Sonic in the other. "Oi! Santa! Word of advice. If you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver," he put the mic close to speak into it. "don't let him near the sound system."

He put the Sonic to the deck, making the harmonics hit a pitch that made everyone cover their ears. The sound waves shook the robots until they fell apart, which ended the assault of the baubles.

The people slowly came out of their hiding places, checking each other for injuries. Luckily, it seemed that there weren't too many injured, bar some scratches and bruises.

Ember lifted the tablecloth where she'd hidden the children. "You guys ok?"

"Was it the aliens?" One of them asked. It was the little girl in the pink dress.

"Yea, but don't worry, they're gone now," Ember smiled at them as they warily got out from under the table. She dug around in her pockets before finding a small plastic bag where she kept her sweets and opened it. "Here; for being really brave."

The children each took a sweet and went off to find their parents. Ember put the bag back in her pocket before she turned to look for the Doctor, just in time to see him running out of the back door. She took off after him as Donna followed.

"There's someone behind this, directing the roboforms." He was saying as the two women caught up with him outside.

"But why is it me?" Donna asked. "What have I done?"

"If we find the controller, we'll find that out." The Doctor's Sonic led him to look up. "Ooo! It's up there. Something in the sky."

Ember raised a brow. "A bit higher than that, actually. Here's a hint; keep friends close, and enemies closer."

The Doctor nodded, only to frown. "I've lost the signal. Donna, we've got to get to your office. HC Clements. I think that's where it all started." He spotted the groom-to-be as he came out. "Lance! Is it Lance? Lance, can you give us a lift?"

"Please," Ember added to the confused man.

* * *

A short drive later, the Doctor, Donna, Ember and Lance reached the main office of HC Clements.

"To you lot this might just be a locksmiths," The Doctor explained as he worked on one of the computers, "but HC Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute."

"Who are they?" Donna asked.

"They were behind the Battle of Canary Wharf." The Doctor paused at Donna's blank look. "Cyberman invasion. Skies over London full of Daleks?"

"Oh, I was in Spain."

"They had Cybermen in Spain."

"Scuba diving."

"That big picture, Donna. You keep on missing it." The Doctor shook his head before getting back on topic, going to another monitor and giving it a whack. "Torchwood was destroyed, but HC Clements stayed in business. I think someone else came in and took over the operation."

"But what do they want with me?"

"Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy. And that's a problem, because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark Times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the Tardis." The Doctor grabbed a nearby mug and a pencil. "See? That's what happened. Say, that's the Tardis." He waved the mug. "And that's you." The pencil. "The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetised and whap." He shook the mug and the pencil before putting the latter into the former. "You were pulled inside the Tardis."

Donna blinked. "I'm a pencil inside a mug?"

"Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up." The Doctor flinched when Ember slapped him on the arm. "What?"

The brunette shook her head as she turned to Donna. "You're not a pencil. You're important, and special. Don't ever forget that."

The Doctor gave Ember a fond smile before he turned to another monitor and used his Sonic on it. "Lance? What was HC Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"

Lance shook his head. "I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager. Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?"

"They make keys, that's the point." The Doctor said as he brought up a floor plan of the building. "And look at this. We're on the third floor."

He ran off, followed by the engaged couple and Ember as they went back to the lifts. "Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes? Then how come when you look on the lift, there's a button marked lower basement? There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. So what's down there, then?"

"Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?" Lance asked. Ember had to commend him on his acting skills.

"No," the Doctor replied. "I'm _showing_ you this building's got a secret floor."

"It needs a key." Donna pointed out.

"I don't." The Doctor sonicked the LB button as Ember moved to his side. "Right then. Thanks, you two. We can handle this. See you later."

"No chance, Martian." Donna said, getting into the lift. "You're the ones who keep saving my life. I ain't letting you two out of my sight."

The Doctor knew better than to argue. "Going down."

"Lance?"

The groom hesitated. "Maybe I should go to the police..."

"Friends close." Ember muttered, just loud enough for the Doctor to hear her.

"Inside!" Donna barked. Lance was quick to get in the lift with them.

The Doctor glanced at him. "To honour and obey?"

"Tell me about it, mate."

"Oi!"

The lift doors closed, and they made their way down to the lower basement. The doors then opened to reveal a green-lit corridor that stretched beyond the eye could see.

"Where are we?" Donna asked. "Well, what goes on down here?"

The Doctor looked around as he stepped out of the lift. "Let's find out."

"Do you think Mister Clements knows about this place?"

"The mysterious HC Clements? I think he's part of it." The Doctor spotted something to the side of the corridor. "Oh, look. Transport."

In minutes, three segways were rolling down the corridor. Donna and Lance had one each while the Doctor and Ember shared the third. Ember had her arms around the Doctor's waist, trying to hide the blush on her face at the close proximity

Donna couldn't help a laugh as she looked at them, the Doctor grinning in amusement. Ember smiled while Lance looked confused.

Further along the corridor, the Doctor stopped at a large bulkhead-like door. The sign above it was what caught his eye, reading 'Torchwood. Authorised personnel only'. Upon opening the door, they found a ladder leading up.

"Wait here. Just need to get my bearings. " the Doctor started to climb the ladder. "Don't do anything."

"You'd better come back." Donna said.

"I couldn't get rid of you if I tried."

Ember put her hand on Donna's shoulder. "I'll be here, so he's gotta come back."

As the Doctor disappeared up the ladder, Lance turned to his bride. "Donna, have you thought about this? Properly? I mean, this is serious! What the hell are we going to do?"

"Oh, I thought July." Donna said.

"July's nice." Ember said. "I have some advice for you both; consider it a wedding present. Think hard about where you stand in life, because you never know if the ground under your feet is made of stone or sand."

Lance looked at her in puzzlement. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Ember met his gaze evenly, making him falter. "It means be careful whose side you're on. The hand that helps you up could just as easily become the fist that knocks you down."

The Doctor reappeared at that moment, coming down the ladder and back to ground level. "Thames Flood Barrier right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath."

"What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?" Donna asked, surprised.

"Oh, I know. Unheard of." Ember smirked at that. She could name at least three other places.

They made their way further down the corridor until they found another door, and found themselves in what looked like a laboratory, complete with bubbling tubes of various liquids.

"Oo, look at this." The Doctor said in almost childish glee as he looked at the tubes. "Stunning!"

"What does it do?" Donna asked.

"Particle extrusion. Hold on. Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. Course, my people got rid of Huons. They unravel the atomic structure."

Lance looked at him. "Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?"

"Oh, I'm a freelancer. But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river. Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result-" he held up a vial of seemingly clear liquid. "Huon particles in liquid form."

"And that's what's inside me?" The Doctor turned a knob on top of the vial, and the liquid glowed gold - as did Donna. "Oh, my God!"

The Doctor stopped the glow. "Genius. Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then... Oh!" He jumped back as it all came together in his head. "The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle. Oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine. Wham! go the endorphins. Oh, you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven. A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away. The particles reach boiling point. Shazam!"

Slap! Ember winced again.

The Doctor looked at the brunette, who shrugged, before turning to Donna. "What did I do this time?"

"Are you enjoying this?" She snapped back, and then took a breath. "Right, just tell me. These particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?"

"Yes."

Donna caught Ember shaking her head. "Doctor, if your lot got rid of Huon particles, why did they do that?"

"...Because they were deadly."

"Oh, my God."

"I'll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. We are not about to lose someone else."

_"Oh, she is long since lost."_ They looked around for the source of the new, female voice as a wall near them slid up to reveal an extra room that had walkways above and a huge hole descending down into the earth. _"I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!"_

Ember saw Lance slip away, but couldn't follow him as black-robed robots appeared, pointing guns at the remaining trio.

The Doctor stepped forward a bit to look into the hole. "Someone's been digging. Oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?"

"All the way," Ember said.

_"Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!"_ The voice added.

"Really?" The Doctor was surprised. "Seriously? What for?"

"Dinosaurs." Donna said.

"What?"

"Dinosaurs?"

"What are you on about, dinosaurs?"

"That film, Under the Earth, with dinosaurs." Donna shrugged. "Trying to help."

"That's not helping."

_"Such a sweet couple."_ The voice cooed.

The Doctor looked around. "Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?"

_"High in the sky. Floating so high on Christmas night."_

"I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom. Come on, let's have a look at you!"

_"Who are you with such command?"_

"I'm the Doctor."

_"Prepare your best medicines, doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart."_ The owner of the voice beamed into the room: a huge alien with red skin, the body of a spider, the head of a woman, snarling and growling at them.

Ember felt a shiver run through her at the sight of the creature. Her first thought was that it was a fear of spiders, but it felt different. Something in her was not happy to see this creature.

The Doctor recognised it easily. "Racnoss? But that's impossible. You're one of the Racnoss?"

"Empress of the Racnoss."

"If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or... are you the only one?"

"Such a sharp mind."

"That's it, the last of your kind. The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago. Billions. They were carnivores, omnivores. They devoured whole planets."

"Racnoss are born starving." The Empress said with a toothy smile. "Is that our fault?"

"They eat people?" Donna asked, surprised.

The Doctor caught sight of something above them, and spoke without looking away. "HC Clements, did he wear those, those uh... black and white shoes?"

"He did. We used to laugh. We used to call him the fat cat in spats." The Doctor pointed to the ceiling, where webbing was stretched across it, and a pair of feet wearing the same shoes was sticking out of a cocoon. "Oh, my God!"

"Mmm. My Christmas dinner." The Empress almost licked her lips.

"You shouldn't even exist." The Doctor said. "Way back in history, the fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss they were wiped out."

Ember winced as a slight throb went through her head, which puzzled her, but before she could focus on it she spotted Lance on a balcony behind the Empress, putting his finger to his lips.

"Except for me." The Empress said, seemingly unaware that the man was behind her.

"But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi!" Donna snapped as the Empress was about to turn. "Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How comes I get all stacked up with these Huon particles? Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me."

The Empress was amused. "The bride is so feisty."

Donna saw Lance pick up a fire axe and sneak up behind the giant alien. "Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big thing, but a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!"

The Empress turned to face Lance as he lifted the axe as though to strike, but then he stopped and laughed. Ember sighed through her nose. Apparently her words weren't enough this time.

"That was a good one." Lance said. "Your face!"

"Lance is funny." The Empress laughed with him.

Donna was confused. "What?"

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said as Ember moved to stand on the other side of Donna and take her hand.

"Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!"

Lance rolled his eyes. "God, she's thick. Months I've had to put up with her. Months! A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."

Donna now felt hurt. "I don't understand..."

"How did you meet him?" The Doctor asked gently.

"In the office..."

"He made you coffee."

"...What?"

"Every day, I made you coffee." Lance said, as though he was talking to an idiot.

"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months." The Doctor said gently.

Ember squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, Donna. Keep friends close, and enemies closer."

"He was poisoning me." Donna murmured in realisation.

"It was all there in the job title. The Head of Human Resources."

"This time, it's personnel." Lance and the Empress laughed at the bad joke.

"But, we were getting married..."

Lance scoffed. "Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap. 'Oh, Brad and Angelina. Is Posh pregnant? X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me!' Dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia! I deserve a medal."

"Oh, is that what she's offered you?" The Doctor said, not impressed. "The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you, her consort?"

"It's better than a night with her."

"But I love you..." Donna said, heartbreak in her voice.

"That's what made it easy. It's like you said, Doctor. The big picture. What's the point of it all if the human race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?"

"Who is this little physician?" The Empress asked.

"She said Martian."

"Oh, I'm sort of homeless." The Doctor waved it off. "But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's going to help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"

"I think he wants us to talk."

"I think so, too."

"Well, tough! All we need is Donna."

"Kill this chattering little doctor-man and his scarred little girl."

Scarred little girl? Ember felt anger flare up at that, though she wasn't sure why.

Donna moved in front of the Time Lords. "Don't you hurt them!"

"No, no, Donna." The Doctor said. "It's all right."

"No, I won't let them!"

"At arms!" At the Empress's command, the robots pointed their guns at the trio.

"Ah, now. Except..." the Doctor began.

"Take aim!"

"Well, I just want to point out the obvious..."

"They won't hit the bride." The Empress said. "They're such very good shots."

"Just, just, just hold on. Hold on just a tick. Just a tiny little, just a little tick." The Doctor held up the vial of liquid particles. "If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So reverse it, and the spaceship comes to her."

He turned the knob, making the vial and Donna glow gold, and the Tardis materialised around them. They could hear the Empress yell at her robots to fire, but it did nothing as the Doctor ran to the console to get them moving.

"Off we go!" He said. "Oh, do you know what I said before about time machines? Well, I lied. And now we're going to use it. We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet's core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene. I've always wanted to see this. Donna, we're going further back than I've ever been before."

Donna had solemnly moved to sit on the captain's chair at Ember's gentle insistence, where the brunette attempted to comfort her. "I really am sorry, Donna."

The redhead nodded. "Now it makes sense, what you said earlier. You knew all along, didn't you?"

"Kind of." Ember admitted. "I have an idea what happens in the future, but it's not set in stone. It can change, and I've seen it happen. I thought maybe I could sway him, but..."

"It's not your fault." Donna said, giving her a weak smile.

The Doctor approached them, sensing the low mood. "We've arrived. Want to see?"

Donna shrugged. "I suppose."

Nodding, the Doctor looked at the monitor and tilted his head. "Hold on, scanner's a bit small. Maybe your way's best." He moved to the doors. "Come on. No human's ever seen this. You'll be the first."

"All I want to see is my bed." Donna mumbled even as she allowed Ember to lead her to the door.

"Donna Noble, welcome to the creation of the Earth." The Doctor opened the doors to reveal space; lumps of rock surrounding a dusty sun. "We've gone back four point six billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas. That's the Sun, over there. Brand new. Just beginning to burn."

"Where's the Earth?" Donna asked.

"All around us, in the dust."

Ember looked at the beginnings of what would become the Earth. Once again, seeing it on tv did not compare to seeing it with her own eyes. However, she was puzzled when she felt a strange sense of nostalgia, almost as though she'd seen this before. How was that possible?

"Puts the wedding in perspective." Donna said, unwittingly bringing Ember out of her thoughts. "Lance was right. We're just... tiny."

"No, but that's what you do." The Doctor said, trying to cheer her up. "The human race makes sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed."

"No one should hold power over all of this..." Ember murmured, feeling like she'd said it before. But when?

Donna didn't seem to notice Ember's inner turmoil. "So I came out of all this?"

"Isn't that brilliant?" The Doctor asked with a grin.

"I think that's the Isle of Wight." Donna joked as a large rock drifted past them.

The Doctor grinned again. "Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in. Everything, piling in until you get-"

"The Earth."

"But the question is, what was that first rock?"

Then, out of the dust, a seven-pointed star spaceship appeared.

"Look!" Donna pointed.

"The Racnoss." The Doctor said, running to the console to do something. "Hold on. The Racnoss are hiding from the war. What's it doing?"

Donna shook her head as the dust and rocks began to gravitate toward the ship. "Exactly what you said."

"Oh, they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth. They _became_ the centre of the Earth. The first rock!"

There was a loud bang as the Tardis jolted, Ember closing the doors before she or Donna fell out of them. "What was that?"

"Trouble!"

"Hold on to something!" Ember yelled as she pulled Donna to the nearest railing. "It's gonna be bumpy!"

The redhead held on with all she had. "What the hell's it doing?"

"That little trick of mine, particles pulling particles." The Doctor said. "Well, it works in reverse. They're pulling us back!"

"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something!"

"Backseat driver. Oh! Wait a minute! The extrapolator!" The Doctor looked under the console and pulled out what looked like a machine-version of a short surfboard, though it seemed to have the coral from the Tardis growing on it. "It can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump! Nice hint, Ember!"

The brunette could only nod as she tried to keep her footing.

The Doctor waited until the right time to activate the device. "Now!" One last bump, and the ship went still. He ran to the doors and looked out. "We're about two hundred yards to the right. Come on!"

"Well what do we do?" Donna asked as she and Ember followed the Doctor back down the corridor, now light blue instead of green, to the door they'd found the ladder in.

"I don't know. I make it up as I go along. But trust me, I've got a history."

"But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles, but what for?"

"There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but our people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss were stuck..."

As he began to ramble an explanation, a robot appeared and grabbed Donna from behind. Ember, who'd seen it, was also grabbed and dragged away before she could shout out.

* * *

A short time later, Ember found herself ensnared in the web on the ceiling with Donna and Lance tied up with her. They hung above the huge hole that led to the centre of the Earth.

"I hate you." Donna said to her former groom.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I think we've gone a bit beyond that now, sweetheart."

The Empress gave a toothy grin as she looked up at them. "My golden couple, together at last. Your awful wedded life. Tell me, do you want to be released?"

"Yes!" Donna and Lance said together.

"You're supposed to say, I do."

"Huh. No chance." Lance scoffed.

"Say it!"

"...I do."

"I do." Donna said.

The Empress laughed. "I don't."

Ember rolled her eyes. "You really fell for that?"

"Activate the particles! Purge every last one!" At the Empresses command, Donna and Lance began to glow gold. "And release!" The gold flew down into the hole. "The secret heart unlocks, and they will waken from their Sleep of Ages."

"Who will?" Donna asked. "What's down there?"

"How thick are you?" Lance said.

"Oh, shut up!" Ember snapped at him. "Donna, the last of the Racnoss are down there. The Huon particles are waking them up."

The Empress didn't acknowledge the brunette. "My children, the long lost Racnoss, now reborn to feast on flesh! The web star shall come to me." There was a low rumbling sound, along with the sound of scuttling legs from below. "My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web."

Lance panicked as he felt the web around him loosen. "Use her, not me! Use her, or the other one!"

"Oh, my funny little Lance! But you are quite impolite to your lady friends. The Empress does not approve."

The web released Lance, and he fell into the hole with a scream.

"Lance!" Donna cried. She may have had her heart broken by the man, but she hadn't wished him dead.

Ember flinched as her head throbbed and her vision went white...

_The Doctor had a remote control and some baubles from the party earlier. However, the baubles didn't explode as big as they should have, and he and Donna were left to the mercy of the Racnoss babies, who wasted no time in devouring them..._

"Harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat!" The Empress roared, breaking Ember out of her vision in time to notice a robed form climbing some steps. "My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them. So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor man."

The robed form turned out to be the Doctor, who had a robot mask, but tossed it and the robe aside. "Oh well. Nice try. I've got you, Donna!"

He pointed the Sonic at the web, which began to give way.

"Grab the web, Donna, and hold on for your life," Ember said as she did the same.

"I'm going to fall!" Donna cried as she felt the web loosen.

"You're going to swing!" The Doctor corrected. The web came loose into two thick strands, sending both Donna and Ember swinging over the hole, past the Empress and to the Doctor. "I've got you!"

Or rather, Ember's web let her swing to him. Donna's was just a few feet too long, so she ended up crashing into the wall just below the railing where the Doctor was stood. The bride fell to the floor with an almost comical _clang!_

"Oh." The Doctor winced, looking over the railing. "Sorry."

"Thanks for nothing." The redhead deadpanned from where she was lying on the floor.

The Empress laughed. "The doctor man amuses me."

The Doctor turned to face her. "Empress of the Racnoss, I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you and your children a place in the universe to co-exist. Take that offer and end this now."

"These men are so funny."

"What's your answer?"

"Oh I'm afraid I have to decline."

"Then what happens next is your own doing."

"I'll show you what happens next." The Empress called to the robots. "At arms! Take aim! And-"

"Relax." At the Doctor's quiet command, the robots slumped over.

Donna got to her feet and looked at the robots. "What did you do?"

"Guess what I've got, Donna?" The Doctor revealed a remote control. "Pockets!"

"How did that fit in there?"

"They're bigger on the inside."

"Roboforms are not necessary." The Empress growled. "My children may feast on Martian flesh."

"Oh, but I'm not from Mars."

"Then where?"

"Our home planet is far away and long since gone. But its name lives on." The Doctor took Ember's hand and squeezed it. "Gallifrey."

The Empress hissed at the name. "They murdered the Racnoss!"

"I warned you. You did this." The Doctor took out some baubles he'd hidden in his other pocket.

Ember squeezed his hand to get his attention. "They won't be enough. Send them where you need them, and I'll handle the rest."

The Doctor nodded, letting go of her hand and throwing the baubles into the air despite the Empress's cry not to. He used the remote to control the baubles and send some to surround the Empress while others went to the walls.

Ember gripped the railing, concentrating hard, and the baubles at the walls exploded with more force than they had before, causing water to break through the resulting holes. Fires broke out around the room as the water splashed, and Ember felt something click into place in her own mind before the water suddenly coiled, seemingly with a life of its own, to dive down the hole where the Racnoss were, causing screams as they were drowned.

"No! No! My children!" The Empress cried. "No! My children! My children!"

Donna looked around, seeing fire and water seemingly coexisting to destroy everything in sight, and then looked up at the Time Lords. The Doctor was stoic as he watched with dark eyes, but seeing Ember made a shiver of fear go through the redhead.

Ember's eyes were completely silver, no pupil or sclera visible, and it looked almost like she was controlling the fire _and_ the water.

"Doctor! Ember!" Donna called to them. "You can stop now!"

The Doctor blinked, as though coming out of a trance, but Ember didn't even twitch. Her knuckles were white as her hands gripped the railing, which looked like it had bent slightly under the pressure. The Doctor took one look at her and moved to hug her from behind, putting his hands over hers and his mouth next to her ear.

"Come back to me, Ember," he said softly, feeling her hands twitch. "That's it. You can do it."

Ember suddenly took a breath, as though she hadn't breathed for hours, and blinked harshly. Her eyes returned to normal and she stumbled into the Doctor's embrace. The fire lessened in intensity and the water eased a bit, looking less controlled.

The Doctor held her close as he looked down at Donna. "Come on! Time we got you out."

Soaked to the skin, the Doctor, Ember and Donna headed up the stairs, pausing only to glance back as the Empress yelled to be transported and disappeared.

"But what about the Empress?" Donna asked.

"She's used up all her Huon energy." The Doctor replied. "She's defenceless!"

"And she won't escape," Ember added, though she sounded exhausted.

The trio ran to the door that had the ladder leading up, and climbed up it to end up at the Thames Barrier. They were just in time to see the Racnoss ship get blown up by the military.

"There's just one problem." Donna said, looking around.

The Doctor looked at her. "What is that?"

"We've drained the Thames."

Ember gave a tired smile as the other two laughed.

* * *

After retrieving the Tardis, the Doctor and Ember dropped Donna off across the road to her house. The Time Lords stood in the doorway of the blue box while Donna was a few steps away.

"There we go." The Doctor said, patting the Tardis. "Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything."

"More than I've done." Donna replied.

The Doctor gave her a quick scan with his Sonic. "No, all the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine."

"Yeah, but apart from that, I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of."

"At least you're alive," Ember pointed out.

The Doctor nodded. "I couldn't save him."

"He deserved it." Donna said, only to hesitate. "No, he didn't."

"Nah, he deserved an ass-kicking from you," Ember added.

Nodding, Donna turned to look at her house, seeing her mother and her grandfather in the window. "I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."

"Best Christmas present they could ever have." The Doctor said before he remembered. "Oh, no. I forgot you hate Christmas."

"Yes, I do."

"Even if it snows?"

With a flick of a switch in the Tardis, a bolt of energy was shot up from the top into the sky, and it immediately began to snow.

Donna laughed in surprise. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Oh, basic atmospheric excitation." The Doctor said modestly.

"Merry Christmas."

"And you. So, what will you do with yourself now?"

Donna shrugged. "Not getting married, for starters. And I'm not going to temp anymore. I don't know... Travel. See a bit more of planet Earth. Walk in the dust. Just go out there and do something."

"Well, you could always..."

"What?" Donna asked when the Doctor trailed off.

"Come with us."

"No."

"Okay."

"I can't."

"No, that's fine." The Doctor was barely hiding the disappointment, but he wasn't fooling anyone.

"No, but really. Everything we did today. Do you live your life like that?"

"Not all the time."

"I think you do. And I couldn't."

"But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful..."

"And it's terrible. That place was flooding and burning and they were dying, and you were stood there like, I don't know, a stranger." Donna then looked at Ember. "And you, you were controlling it, weren't you? The fire and the water, like some kind of... And then you made it snow. I mean, you scare me to death, both of you."

Ember lowered her gaze and turned away, slipping into the Tardis. That hurt, to hear Donna essentially call her a monster. She hadn't said the word out loud, but it was clear enough.

"Right." The Doctor murmured as he fought the urge to slam the door on Donna and comfort the brunette.

Donna herself felt bad when she saw the hurt cross Ember's face for a moment. "Tell you what I will do, though. Christmas dinner." The Doctor made a face. "Oh, come on."

"I don't do that sort of thing."

"You did it last year. You said so. And you might as well, because Mum always cooks enough for twenty. And I can apologise to Ember too."

"Oh, all right then. But you go first. Better warn them. And don't say we're Martians. I just have to park her properly. She might drift off to the Middle Ages. I'll see you in a minute." The Doctor stepped into the Tardis, spotting Ember sitting on the captain's chair. He moved to the console, though he ended up going back to the door when Donna called him back. "Blimey, you can shout."

"Am I ever going to see you again?" Donna asked.

"If I'm lucky."

"Just promise me one thing. Find someone."

"I don't need anyone. I've got Ember."

"Yes, but who has you? Because sometimes, I think you need someone to stop you. Both of you."

"Yeah. Thanks then, Donna. Good luck. And just... be magnificent."

"I think I will, yeah." She was about to let him close the door before she thought of something else. "Doctor?"

"Oh, what is it now?"

"That friend of yours. What was her name?"

The Doctor hesitated before he replied. "Her name was Rose."

With that, he closed the door. When he finally got them moving and into the Time Vortex, he turned to the silent brunette. "Are you alright, Ember?"

"Don't know yet." She admitted, her left hand gently touching the scar on her face. She felt a burning sensation build up in her chest: a sign that she was about to jump. "I'll get back to you later on that one. See you soon."

She jumped before she heard his reply.

* * *

Ok, there's the first chapter of this new series in the Storms of Fire saga. And what a start: Ember meets Donna (the first time, in Donna's eyes) and she seems to have some kind of power over water. How will this help in the future? Find out soon!

Ps; This series is going to be about twenty five chapters, give or take. I plan to update every Monday, bar any real life happenings that prevent me from doing so. As I did in Series One, I will have each chapter as an episode, and when it comes to two-parters I plan to post the second part a few days after the first, probably on the following Thursday. This particular series will have at least two large revealations by the end of it.

Next Time: Ember helps catch a ghost. But is it really a ghost? And what more will she see along the way?


	2. Chapter Two: Hide

Here's chapter two!

Side note here; I did get a review saying that the intro I put in the first chapter reminded them of a BBC show called 'America', or specifically its season 6 teaser trailer. I'm gonna have to admit now that I have not seen this show, but it is on my watch list lol

Oh, and some reviewers are hoping that the Doctor will get to talk to Ember soon. Well, you know how crazy things tend to get when the Doctor's involved. They'll get to talk... sooner or later. But there is going to be a fare bit of dancing around the issue or attempts to avoid it, as well as having to face a few old and new things first. Hope you're strapped in for the long haul lol

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Two: Hide

* * *

Ember let out a squeak as she arrived at her next destination only to get immediately soaked to the bone, finding herself outside on a dark and stormy night. She struggled to get her new hood up, glad that she'd sewn it to her singed denim jacket during her recovery, before looking around. It was too dark to really see anything, but she could just about tell that she was in a street.

"Ember?" A voice said from behind her just as the rain suddenly stopped falling on her head, instead hitting a red umbrella that was now held over her by a surprised Eleventh Doctor. Clara was right next to him, trying to stay under the umbrella. "Are you alright? Why are you out here without an umbrella?"

"Because I didn't get a weather forecast before I jumped," She said as she turned around to face them, smiling slightly. "Hi, by the way."

Clara blinked at her. "Your scar... it looks fresh."

"Yea, just got it actually," Ember said, tensing when the Doctor moved to her side and gently pulled her into a one-armed hug to keep them both under the umbrella. "I'll tell you this now; don't try to literally use your head to stop a Dalek. You won't win."

"What's a Dalek?"

"Bad news on wheels. So where are you two going on a horrid night like this?"

The Doctor noticed her attempt to sidestep the topic, so he gave her a reprieve by going with it. "We're out to find a ghost! Caliburn House is full of stories about a ghost, and we've come to investigate!"

Ember had to think for a moment to remember where Clara and ghosts were in the same episode, and then it came to her. The Doctor wasn't really interested in the ghost, but rather someone who was looking for it. "Oh. So let's go find a ghost."

Grinning, the Doctor led them through the rain to one large house, where he knocked loudly on the door before he moved them all to the side and out of sight. A few moments later, the door opened, and then the Doctor suddenly jumped back into view.

"Boo!" He cried, making the man who'd opened it jump. "Hello, I'm looking for a ghost."

The man frowned behind his glasses and 70s style clothing. "And you are?"

Clara stepped next to the Doctor, Ember just behind. "Ghostbusters."

"I'm the Doctor." He held up the psychic paper.

"Doctor what?" The man asked.

"If you like. And this is Clara and Ember." The Doctor walked in and went straight to the main foyer, looking over the equipment that was set up around the room. "Ah, but you are very different. You are Major Alec Palmer. Member of the Baker Street Irregulars, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Specialised in espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance behind enemy lines. You're a talented watercolourist, professor of psychology and ghost hunter. Total pleasure. Massive."

"Actually, you're wrong." The woman finally spoke up. "Professor Palmer spent most of the war as a POW."

"Actually, that's a like told by a very brave man involved in very secret operations. The type of man who keeps a Victoria Cross in a box in the attic, eh?" The Doctor turned to give her a few air kisses. "But you know that, because you're Emma Grayling, the Professor's companion."

Emma blushed. "Assistant."

"It's 1974. You're the assistant and non-objective equipment. Meaning psychic."

Clara nodded. "Getting that. Bless you, though."

"Relax, Emma. He's Military Intelligence." Palmer said before he faced the Doctor. "So, what is all this in aid of?"

"Health and safety. Yeah, the Ministry got wind of what's going on down here. Sent me to check that everything's in order."

"They don't have the right."

"Don't worry, guv'nor, I'll be out of your hair in five minutes." The Doctor grinned as he pulled Ember over to a piece of equipment with toggle switches, flicking them a few times as he spoke. "Oh! Oh, look. Oh, lovely. The ACR 99821. Oh, bliss. Nice action on the toggle switches. You know, I do love a toggle switch. Actually, I like the word toggle. Nice noun. Excellent verb." He slapped Clara's hand away when she reached out to touch the switches. "Oi, don't mess with the settings."

Palmer blinked as the Doctor brought out his Sonic to scan the couple and the equipment. "What's that?"

"Gadget. Health and safety. Classified, I'm afraid. You know, while the back room boffins work out a few kinks."

Emma looked at the Doctor. "What's it telling you?"

"It's telling me that you haven't been exposed to any life-threatening transmundane emanations. So, where's the ghost? Show me the ghost." There was thunder and possibly a sound from upstairs. "It's ghost time."

He began to walk off with a three-pronged candelabra, followed by Ember and Clara. Palmer and Emma quickly caught up with them in the hallway as the former spoke. "I will not have this stolen out from under me, do you understand?"

The Doctor barely glanced back at him. "Er, no, not really, sorry."

"I will not have my work stolen, then be fobbed off with a pat on the back and a letter from the Queen. Never again. This is my house, Doctor, and it belongs to me."

"This is actually your house?" Clara asked.

"It is."

"Sorry. You went to the bank and said 'you know that gigantic old haunted house on the moors? The one the dossers are too scared to doss in? The one the birds are too scared to fly over?' And then you said 'I'd like to buy it, please, with my money.'"

"Yes, I did, actually." Palmer said as the Doctor gave him a calculating look.

"That's incredibly brave."

Everyone looked around at a loud creak that echoed through the house.

The Doctor met Palmer's gaze. "Listen, Major, we just need to know what's going on here."

"For the Ministry?"

"You know I can't answer that."

"...Very well, follow me."

Ember shivered, and then jumped slightly as the Doctor took her hand. "Doctor, if I didn't know better, I'd say we're being watched."

The Doctor squeezed her hand. "I'd say so too."

He led her away, missing the slight frown the brunette made. She _did_ know better: there _was_ something watching them.

* * *

The group were now in the living room. Palmer was sorting out a large board with lots of notes and bits of paper pinned to it. The Doctor was messing around with a Nixon camera, taking photos of himself and sometimes sneaking one or two of Ember, who was looking out of the window at the rain. Clara and Emma were sat in chairs next to a collapsible table with food on it, waiting for the boys to be ready.

"So, what's an empathic psychic?" Clara asked.

Emma smiled patiently as the Doctor stepped between them to get to the table, investigating the food. "Sometimes I sense feelings, the way a telepath can sense thoughts. Sometimes, though. Not always."

"The most compassionate people you'll ever meet, empathics." The Doctor said, sipping from a glass bottle of milk. "And the loneliest. I mean, exposing themselves to all those hidden feelings, all that guilt, pain and sorrow and-"

"Doctor?" Clara said.

"Yes?"

"Shush." She was looking at Emma, who was looking uncomfortable. The Doctor at least had the decency to look a bit sheepish.

"Do you, Uh, care to have a look?" Palmer spoke up, finally ready. He turned the board around so that they could all see the various photographs on it. Everyone stood and approached to see it more clearly. "Caliburn House is over four hundred years old, but she has been here much longer. The Caliburn Ghast. She's mentioned in local Saxon poetry and parish folk tales. The Wraith of the Lady, the Maiden in the Dark, the Witch of the Well."

Clara looked at the Edwardian photos in surprise. "Is she real? As in, actually real?"

"Oh, she's real. In the seventeenth century, a local clergyman saw her. He wrote that her presence was accompanied by a dreadful knocking, as if the Devil himself demanded entry. During the war, American airmen stationed here left offerings of tinned Spam. The tins were found in 1965, bricked up in the servants' pantry, along with a number of handwritten notes. Appeals to the Ghast. 'For the love of God, stop screaming.'"

Ember nudged Clara gently with her elbow. "See any differences in the photos?"

That made Clara look again. "She never changes. The angle's different, the framing, but she's always in exactly the same position. Why is that?"

Palmer shook his head. "We don't know. She's an objective phenomenon, but objective recording equipment can't detect her..."

"Without the presence of a powerful psychic." The Doctor finished, having grabbed the candelabra to get better light on the photos.

"Absolutely." Palmer said, removing his glasses. "Very well done."

"She knows I'm here." Emma suddenly said. "I can feel her calling out to me."

"What's she saying?"

"...Help me."

A shadow whizzed past the entrance to the room. Ember was the only one to see it, though she didn't get a clear view of what it was.

"The Witch of the Well." The Doctor mused. "So where's the well?"

Palmer walked to one of the tables to the side, where a large piece of paper was resting. The Doctor followed. "A copy of the oldest plan that we could find. There is no well on the property. None that we could find, anyway."

Ember stayed by Clara, who was still looking at the photos. The young woman spoke quietly. "Is it really a ghost? Are we... in danger?"

"No," Ember said firmly, then clarified. "No danger. Just lost souls."

Clara caught the plural, but before she could ask, the Doctor tapped her on the head. She jumped and turned to give him a look as he spoke. "You coming?"

"Where?" She asked.

"To find the ghost."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because you want to. Come on."

"Well, I dispute that assertion."

"Eh?" The Doctor glanced over at where Palmer and Emma were distracted by the plans (missing how Emma glanced at them), and then at Clara, tilting his head. "I'm giving you a face. Can you see me? Look at my face."

"...Fine." Clara said, walking up to him. Ember followed. "Dare me."

"I dare you. No takesies backsies."

Clara took the candelabra and left the room. The Doctor was about to follow when Emma spoke up.

"The music room is the heart of the house."

The Doctor hesitated, and then nodded at her before he turned and left, taking Ember's hand to guide her with him.

The three of them were quiet as they walked through the dark halls. Clara decided to speak up. "Say we actually find her. What do we say?"

"We ask her how she came to be... whatever she is." The Doctor replied.

"Why?"

"Because I don't know, and ignorance is, um, what's the opposite of bliss?"

"Carlisle."

"Yes. Yes, Carlisle. Ignorance is Carlisle."

Ember cleared her throat. "I could just tell you, you know."

The Doctor turned and put a finger on her lips to silence her. "But that would ruin the fun, wouldn't it?"

"I guess."

"I like the old fashioned way of finding out, with a few exceptions."

They began to move again, passing through a kitchen but missing the shadow that passed behind them.

They eventually found the music room, evidenced by the large harp. The room would have been lovely, if it were not old and dusty and very nearly spooky in its emptiness. It had a few other instruments still there, cloth covering them and bathed in moonlight from the large windows. There were a few music stands here and there as well, and a few statues of male busts to the sides of the entrance.

"Ah, the music room." The Doctor said, getting out his Sonic and scanning the room. "The heart of the house. Do you feel anything?"

"No." Clara said, Ember shaking her head.

"Your pants are so on fire." The Sonic seemed to stutter before he tapped it.

Clara hesitated. "Do you feel like you're being watched?"

"What does being watched feel like?"

"Like the hairs on the back of your neck are standing up in defence? Like you want to run, but don't know what from or why?" Ember asked.

"That's the chap."

The Doctor nodded. "Then yes, a bit. Well, quite a big bit."

"I think she's here." Clara said, hearing another loud creak. She looked behind her, but found nothing.

The Doctor moved back to the doorway and exhaled, puzzled when he saw his own breath. "Cold spot. Spooky. Cold." He stepped backwards and forewords. "Warm. Cold. Warm. Cold. Warm. Cold. Warm. Cold."

Clara looked around again as the Doctor got chalk out of his pocket to draw a circle in the cold spot. She was hearing more creaking, and judging by the tense posture Ember had, the brunette could hear it too. "Doctor? Doctor!"

"What?"

"I'm not happy."

The Doctor scanned the cold spot with his Sonic. "No."

Clara looked around yet again at another creak, and then looked back to see the Doctor walking out of the room with Ember not far behind. "Hey!" She caught up to them in the hallway near the stairs as there was a thumping sound. "What was that?"

Suddenly, there was a loud slam, and the candles on the candelabra were blown out. The Doctor moved to the window as ice began to form on the glass.

Clara jumped at the sound of knocking. "Okay, what is that?"

"It's, uh, it's a very loud noise. It's a very loud, very angry noise."

"What's making it?"

"I don't know. Are you making it?"

The banging came again, almost like it was getting closer. The Doctor jumped and ran back over to the girls' side.

"Doctor?" Clara asked after a moment.

"Yes?"

"I may be a teeny, tiny bit terrified."

"Yes?"

"But I'm still a grown-up."

"Mainly, yes, and?"

"There's no need to actually hold my hand."

The Doctor looked down, but there was a problem. "Clara..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm not holding your hand." He held up both hands to prove it. They looked behind them just as thunder clapped again, revealing a crouched shadow behind a curtain. The Doctor and Clara screamed as they turned and ran to the stairs. So caught up in the scare were they, that they didn't realise they'd left Ember behind.

The brunette slowly crouched down, keeping her eyes on the Shadow whenever the flash of thunder revealed it. It didn't move between flashes. "I know you're scared, and not just for yourself. We're here to help. But you need to be careful. Stay hidden. We'll get your partner back soon."

Another flash revealed the shadow had drew up slightly, as though listening. Then the next flash showed that it was gone, the creaking getting quieter.

_"Help me!"_

The almost ghostly cry made Ember stand as she turned to the stairs. She quickly made her way down them, finding Palmer holding a pale Emma, Clara still holding the candelabra in a death grip, and the Doctor approaching the stairs. All of them were looking at the wall above the stairs, where the words 'HELP ME' were shown in white before they faded away.

The Doctor spotted the brunette and ran up the stairs to take her into his arms in a tight hug. "Are you alright? Why didn't you follow us?"

"You two ran like mice," Ember replied. "As I've told Clara; there's no danger here."

No one really replied to that, not sure wether to believe her.

* * *

After the harrowing event, the three women were left in the living room while the Doctor and Palmer developed the film from the camera in a dark room. Clara has gotten each of them a glass of whisky.

The Doctor had tried to get Ember to come to the dark room with him, but she refused, coming up with the excuse that her anxiety would make it bad for her in a small room. Well, it was a legit reason; he didn't have to know the _other_ reason she was avoiding getting in a small space with him.

"Urgh." Emma said after taking a sip of her drink. "I'd rather have a nice cup of tea."

Clara shrugged, taking the woman's glass and going to make tea. "Me too. Whisky is the eleventh most disgusting thing ever invented."

"You'll have to tell me the first ten later," Ember didn't seem as bothered, downing hers in one go. She was sat looking out of the window again. "I still don't know my limit. Gonna have to try at some point."

"Maybe after we're done here," Clara said before she turned to Emma. "So, you and Professor Palmer, have you ever, you know?"

The young woman blushed and looked away. "No."

"Why not? You do know how he feels about you, don't you? You, of all people?"

"I don't know. People like me, sometimes we get our signals mixed up. We think people are feeling the way we want them to feel. You know, when they are special to us, when really there's nothing there."

"Oh, this is there." Clara said with a chuckle.

"How do you know?"

"Because it's obvious. It sticks out like a... big chin."

"What about you and the Doctor?"

"Oh, I don't think so." Clara glanced over at Ember before lowering he voice slightly. "He's got someone already, though I don't think she knows it yet."

"...Good."

That made Clara pause. "Sorry?"

"Don't trust him. There's a sliver of ice in his heart."

"So would anyone else if they went through what he's been through," Ember spoke aloud as she turned to face them, having heard the last bit. "You shouldn't judge someone on first impressions, or by what you 'feel' from them."

Emma looked at her calmly. "And you're not that much different."

That made Ember look at her in puzzlement. "What makes you say that?"

"You have a great swell of guilt in you, as well as confusion, like you've done something you think is wrong and are waiting for someone to punish you for it. But there's something else about you. It's like a calm before the storm, or a cornered animal bearing its fangs in warning."

Ember tilted her head. "There's a lot about me that I don't know. Care to give me a hint?"

Emma looked like she was concentrating. "I don't know how to describe it... it's like there's something hidden, somewhere deep inside, but it's waking up. Something... dangerous..."

For a moment, the three women were quiet, and so they jumped as the Doctor's voice could suddenly be heard. "Clara! Ember!"

"Be careful," Emma said just at the other two women were about to leave the room. Ember nodded, taking Clara's hand as they left the room.

"Are you alright?" Clara asked, feeling the tension.

"I've just been told that I have something dangerous inside me. Do you think I'm alright?" Ember retorted before she sighed. "Sorry. Not really slept for a few days. Something happened recently and I'm not feeling great about it, and then I hear that. Not sure what to make of it."

Clara nodded, tugging her hand to make her stop and look at her. "I haven't known you two for very long, but from what I've seen, I'm not scared of you. I hope that helps."

Ember looked away for a moment before she met Clara's gaze with a small smile. "Yea, it does. Thanks. Now, we better get going before he goes without us."

The two women continued until they found the Doctor by the open front door, opening the red umbrella for them to stay under as they went out into the rain. It was a little uncomfortable for Ember and Clara to stay under it, though the Doctor didn't make as much of an effort, but luckily it was short lived as the Tardis was close by, just under some old cloisters.

Clara stopped, making the Time Lords stop as well, looking at the blue box. "I've got this weird feeling it's looking at me. It doesn't like me."

"The Tardis is like a cat. A bit slow to trust," the Doctor said before he ran out from under the umbrella and towards the box, "but you'll get there in the end."

Clara walked with Ember to the door, but it didn't open when she pushed it. She tried knocking, but no result.

Ember reached out and put her hand on the wood. "It's okay. You know she's a friend. Come on, let us in, please?"

She felt a humming under her hand, and the lock clicked. Clara let the brunette go in first before she followed, closing the umbrella. "Hey. You need a place to keep this."

"I've got one." The Doctor said, pointing, only to see nothing there. "Or I had one. I think I had one. Look around. See if you find it. Did I have one? Am I going mad?"

"Bit late to ask that," Ember chided as she walked to the nearest seat and sat down.

Clara shook the water off the umbrella, which made the Doctor walk up and take it off of her. "No, not in here! How do you expect her to like you? She's soaking wet! It's a health and safety nightmare." He tapped the end of the umbrella fussily at her feet.

Clara crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling. "Sorry."

Ember smiled as a sound that could have been described as a huff echoed around them. She stood up and took the umbrella from the Doctor as he passed, and looked around. To her surprise, an umbrella stand that she knew had not been there earlier was now by the door.

Clara saw it too. "Why did she give you one? Does she like you?"

The Doctor answered before Ember could. "Oh, yes, she likes Ember even more than me! No, I meant that I like her too, but... I mean, she likes her more than she likes me. Uh, no wait, the Tardis likes Ember more than the Tardis likes me."

"Got there in the end." Ember said as she put the umbrella in the stand. "Though I can't even guess why. Could it be that it's because I don't hit her?"

"Oh, hush you, you're asking for trouble again," The Doctor pointed at her in mock-threat.

"Okay, before you two start flirting," Clara cut in, ignoring Ember's puzzled look. "So, where are we going?"

"Nowhere. We're staying right here. Right here, on this exact spot, if I can work out how to do it."

Clara tilted her head. "So, _when_ are we going?"

"Oh, that is good. That is top-notch!"

"And the answer is?"

"We're going always." The Doctor said as he ran off to get something from under the console.

"We're going always."

"Totally!"

"That's not actually a sentence."

"Well, it's got a verb in it." The Doctor came back with an orange spacesuit, holding it up to himself. "What do you think?"

Clara made a face. "Colour's a bit boisterous."

"I think it brings out my eyes."

"Makes my eyes hurt."

The Doctor turned to Ember with a pout that she would later deny was quite adorable. "I think it brings out your eyes too." His answering grin made her blush as he went to put on the suit.

Once he was suited up, he went out of the doors with the camera in hand. Ember and Clara were watching on the scanner at the landscape outside, which looked barren with the ground still hot. The Doctor stepped a few feet away from the Tardis, took a picture, and then came back.

"Back off! Hot suit!" He said as he closed the door. "Hot, hot, hot!"

"When are we?"

"About six billion years ago. It's a Tuesday, I think."

"This is the beginning of the Earth," Ember explained. "It's just formed, so it'll take a while before the surface is cool enough to support life. But lucky for us, we don't have to wait that long."

The next stop was what looked like a tropical jungle with giant dragonflies, then various other points in time where the Doctor would take a quick photo before moving them to the next one, and even Victorian times where the Caliburn house was in its early years of existing.

Finally, they got to the end of the Earth's lifecycle. The Doctor suited up again and got ready to go out alone.

"Back in a mo." He said before he paused, noticing that Clara looked uncomfortable. "Are you all right?"

"Totally. Peachy keen." She said.

"Okay then. Well, don't press any buttons or pull any levers or make any funny faces. Actually, don't move. Stand completely still. Don't breathe. Well, you can breathe, but shallow breaths."

He gave them a cheeky smile and a thumbs up before he turned and stepped out of the Tardis. Clara and Ember watched him on the scanner for few moments, taking in the desolate landscape, before Clara spoke.

"Is it always like this?" She asked. "Seeing things that have been dead for thousands of years?"

Ember reached out to take her hand, only to hesitate and then pull it back. "Everything ends sometime."

They were quiet until the Doctor returned, taking off his helmet and frowning when he saw their expressions. "Oh. What's wrong? Did the Tardis say something to you?" He lightly slapped the console with his glove. "Are you being mean?"

"No, it's not that." Clara said. She took a breath and looked at him. "Have we just watched the entire life cycle of Earth, birth to death?"

"...Yes."

"And you're okay with that?"

"...Yes."

"How can you be?"

The Doctor blinked, puzzled by the question as Ember moved to sit on one of the seats. "The Tardis, she's time... We... Wibbly vortex and so on."

"That's not what I mean."

"Okay, some help. Context?" The Doctor shrugged. "Cheat sheet? Something?"

Clara hesitated before she spoke. "I mean, one minute you're in 1974 looking for ghosts, but all you have to do is open your eyes and talk to whoever's standing there. To you, I haven't been born yet, and to you I've been dead one hundred billion years. Is my body out there somewhere, in the ground?"

The Doctor glanced at the scanner, which still displayed the desolate landscape. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"But here we are, talking." Clara said as he turned to the steps, making him pause just as he reached them. "So I am a ghost. To you, I'm a ghost. We're all ghosts to you. We must be nothing."

"No." The Doctor looked over his shoulder at her. "No. You're not that."

Clara stepped closer. "Then what are we? What can we possibly be?"

There was a long moment before the Doctor replied, his voice soft as he turned to look at her. "...You are the only mystery worth solving."

He turned back and walked down the steps. Clara looked uncomfortable, and Ember took a breath before she spoke.

"Everything has to end." She said, making the young woman turn to face her. "It has to, in order for new things to begin. But let me ask you this, Clara. You know you're going to die someday, in some way in some place in some time. With that knowledge, do you just sit and wallow and wait for it? Or do you go and live, enjoying your life while you have it?"

Clara looked thoughtful, and then she smiled. "Thanks. I needed that."

Ember smiled as she stood. "Anytime."

* * *

The Doctor had brought them back to 1974, heading back into the Caliburn house to develop the film from the camera, while Ember, Clara and Emma waited in the living room.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked, noticing that Clara was still tense.

"...I just saw something I wish I hadn't."

"What did you see?"

"That... everything ends."

"No, not everything. Not love. Not always." Emma smiled at her in an attempt to comfort her.

"Right, done!" The Doctor called as he and Palmer returned with negatives. He put them into the projector. "That's it. Gather round, gather round. Roll up, roll up." With the help of the Sonic, he began to show the pictures he'd taken. "The Gast of Caliburn House. Never changing, trapped in a moment of fear and torment. But, what if she's not? What if she's just trapped somewhere time runs more slowly than it does here? What if a second to her was a hundred thousand years to us? And what if somebody has a magic box. A blue box, probably. What if said somebody could take a snapshot of her, say, every few million years?"

One of the pictures showed a dark-skinned woman in white overalls, apparently running.

"She's not a ghost. But she's definitely a lost soul. Her name is Hila Tacorian. She's a pioneer, a time traveller, or at least she will be in a few hundred years."

"Time travel's not possible." Palmer said, shaking his head. "The paradoxes-"

"Resolve themselves, by and large."

Emma leaned forward slightly. "How long has she been alone?"

"Well, time travel's a funny old thing. I mean, from her perspective, she crash landed... three minutes ago."

"Crash landed? Where?"

"She's in a pocket universe. A distorted echo of our own. They happen sometimes but never last for long." The Doctor blew up two balloons; one red and one blue. "Our universe. Hila Tacorian's here, in a pocket universe. You're a lantern, shining across the dimensions, guiding her home, back to the land of the living."

Clara shook her head as the Doctor let the air out of the balloons. "But what's she running from?"

"Well, that's the best bit. We don't know yet. Shall we see?" He made the projector show the next slide, only to blink. "Oh."

There was a thing behind a tree, leering with a twisted face on four legs with a long neck that looked a bit crooked. The picture was fairly blurry, but it definitely was not human.

"What is that?" Clara asked.

"I don't know. Still, not to worry."

Emma stood up. "So, what do we do?"

"Not we, you. You save Hila Tacorian because you are Emma Grayling." The Doctor said. "You are the lantern. The rest of us are just along for the ride, I'm afraid. We need some sturdy rope and a blue crystal from Metebelis Three. Plus some Kendal Mint Cake."

He took off, taking Ember by the hand, and went back to the Tardis with Clara close behind. The rain had stopped by then.

"Can't you just... you know?" Clara asked, leaning on the railing.

The Doctor was under the console floor, rummaging through the compartments. "What?"

"Fly the Tardis into the parallel universe?"

"Ah, it's not a parallel universe. It's a pocket universe. Plus, it is collapsing. I mean, the Tardis could get in there all right, but entropy would bleed her power sources, you see? Trap her there until the entire universe decayed back into the quantum foam. Which would take about three minutes, give or take, you know."

* * *

In no time, they were almost ready. There was a long, flowing cable leading from the Tardis into the house, up the stairs and into the music room, where the Doctor thought would be the best place in the house to find a way across the dimensions.

The room was now lit up better, full of books and small tables set up with a variety of clocks stationed on top of them, all connected to the various wires. The Doctor was by a chair, fiddling with a bunch of wires, that were hooked an ovalish object with a warm golden light in the middle to a small tripod-like device.

"What is that?" Clara asked, looking at the oval gem, which was glowing blue.

"A subset of the Eye of Harmony." The Doctor replied, lightly slapping her hand away from touching it.

"I don't-"

"Of course you don't. Be weird if you did. I barely do myself." He turned to Emma, who was wearing her coat. "Right. You, sit down."

Ember glanced at the blue oval, feeling herself shiver. It wasn't one of fear, but like... she'd seen it before? But how? When?

"All the way from Metebelis Three." The Doctor's words brought her out of her musings, making her turn to see him put what looked like a crown of wires on Emma's head after she'd sat in the chair. In the center of the crown was a smaller blue gemstone.

"What does it do?" Emma asked, adjusting the crown to fit better.

"It amplifies your natural abilities like a microphone, or a pooper scooper."

Palmer looked uncomfortable, but didn't step in. He gestured to the clocks around the room. "What exactly is this arrangement?"

"A psychochronograph."

"Forgive me, but isn't it all a bit well, make do and mend?"

The Doctor shrugged as he pulled in what looked like a parachute harness with Clara's help. "Non-psychic technology won't work where I'm going. Listen, all I need to do is dive into another dimension, find the time traveller, help her escape the monster. get home before the entire dimension collapses and Bob's your uncle."

"Doctor, will it hurt?" Emma asked.

"No. Well, yes. Probably. A bit. Well, quite a lot. I don't know. It might be agony. To be perfectly honest, I'll be interested to find out."

Emma hesitated for a moment, looking at Palmer. When he nodded, she took a breath and spoke loudly. "I'm talking to the lost soul that abides in this place. I'm speaking to Hila Tarcorian."

The clocks started to go backwards as the Doctor attached a thick rope on a winch to his harness. A black disc appeared in the cold spot and a strong wind started blowing, and then the disc turned into a brightly lit doorway.

"See?" The Doctor called over the noise. "The Witch of the Well! It's a wormhole! A reality well! A door to the echo universe. Ready?"

"Ready!" Emma called back.

"Geronimo!" The Doctor took a running leap at the doorway, disappearing into it. The rope attached to his harness began to unwind from the winch.

"Doctor!" Clara called, though Palmer stopped her from getting closer.

Ember counted to ten in her head before she turned to Emma. "You need to call them back now. Concentrate!"

Emma nodded. "Doctor! Doctor! Come home! Doctor, come home!" She kept calling, but it was already clear that she was struggling. "I'm not strong enough!"

"Just a few more seconds!" Clara insisted.

It seemed like forever, but was barely a minute before they saw the rope on the winch go taunt three times. Ember ran over the winch and started to wind it. "That's the signal! Come on!"

Palmer ran over to help her, and Emma screamed. Then, the harness came back through, but it was being worn by the white-clad woman they were looking for.

A moment later, Emma collapsed. The white light flickered and then collapsed, disappearing.

Everything went quiet for a few moments, and then what sounded like a deep bell echoed from outside.

"What's that?" Clara asked.

"The Tardis." Ember said, straightening and helping Hila remove the harness. "It's a distress call. She knows."

Clara ran over to kneel where Emma was being held by Palmer. "Wake up! Wake up! Open the thing!"

"I'm sorry..." Emma gasped.

"Don't be sorry. Don't be." Palmer soothed. "What you did-"

"Wasn't enough! She needs to do it again." Clara insisted.

"She can't. Look at her."

"She has to! We can't leave him!"

Ember put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Go to the Tardis. She can help."

Clara ran out of the room. Palmer's gaze followed her, and then she looked at Ember, who was putting on the harness herself. He saw her determined expression before he turned his attention to Emma, who looked drained. "I know that you feel you can't do this, Emma, but look at that woman over there." He gestured to Hila. "You saved her. She's only here because of your strength... and so am I. I was as lost as her, but being with you, you gave me a reason to be, Emma. You brought me back from the dead."

Emma looked at him, then Hila, then at Ember. She slowly stood, with help from the first two, and joined hands with them. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Doctor..."

The wormhole reappeared in a flash of light. "Can you hear me? Doctor!"

Ember waited until the doorway seemed strong enough, and then she took a run up and jumped in. She was assaulted with a windy, cold sensation for several long seconds before she landed, finding herself... still in the house?

No, she realised. Not the actual house. It was the echo that Emma had generated to guide them back. She shrugged off the harness and ran, down the stairs and out of the house.

_"__Doctor!"_ Emma called. _"__Doctor, we're here. Come home!"_

As she ran through the mist-covered, creepy woods, Ember could hear growling, as well as dark laughter. Just when she thought she was going the wrong way, she heard the Doctor's voice.

"Yeah, you need me to piggyback you across." He was saying. "To which I say, come on then, big boy, chase me."

Ember caught sight of him, running, but she could also see that the twisted creature they'd seen in the picture was chasing him. She caught up to them just as the creature knocked the Doctor down and pinned him to the floor. "No! Wait, you don't know what you're doing!"

The creature and the Doctor looked up at her shout, the latter looking surprised and worried. "Ember! What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you, before either of you do something you'll regret!" Ember ran up as the creature jumped back, snarling. "I know you're scared, and you're looking for a way out, but it's okay! We're-"

There was a loud ringing above them, and they all looked up as the Tardis appeared, spinning through the air. The creature turned and ran, evidently frightened of the new thing, and Ember was about to give chase when the Doctor grabbed her hand and ran for the Tardis. He was just able to grab it as it spun by, pulling Ember with him as they were hauled up and away.

Everything was spinning and windy and loud and crazy, so Ember had to shut her eyes until it all calmed down. When it did, she found herself back in the music room with the Doctor holding her tight to him against the Tardis. He kissed the crown of her head in relief as he turned, high-fiving Clara as she opened the door to the Tardis.

"Whoa," the Doctor breathed as he moved over to check Emma, who was on her knees and gasping for breath. "It's over..."

"Doctor," Ember said, making him look at her as she leaned against the Tardis. "Got a hint for you. How do sharks make babies?"

Everyone looked at her like she was mad, but no one answered.

* * *

It was the next morning. The group were now outside the Caliburn House, and the Tardis was back where it had started. Hila was walking at the front with Palmer, Clara a few feet behind, and the Doctor picking up the rear with Emma and Ember, though he did stop at the front door to watch.

Emma stopped as well. "You wanted a word?"

The Doctor turned to look at her. "Well, if that's-"

"That's fine. You didn't come here for the ghost, did you?"

"No."

"You came here for me."

The Doctor glanced at Ember, who nodded in encouragement before she moved away to keep Clara distracted. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I needed to ask you something."

"Then ask."

"...Clara."

"Yes?"

"What is she?"

Emma smiled. "She's a girl."

"Yes, but what kind of girl, specifically?"

"She's a perfectly ordinary girl. Very pretty, very clever, more scared than she lets on."

The Doctor turned away, looked out at the girl they were talking about. "And that's it, is it?"

"Why? Is that not enough?" Emma asked, puzzled. "I'm surprised you aren't asking about Ember."

"Why would I?"

"Because she isn't ordinary. There's something... powerful, and dangerous about her. I... don't really know what she is."

"I do. I've known for a long time."

Emma blinked, noting how calm the man before her seemed. "Then... can you tell me what she is?"

"In a word?" The Doctor looked over his shoulder at her. There was something in his eyes that told her how sincere he was when he spoke next. "Everything."

* * *

The group were now walking toward the Tardis. Emma was talking to Hila as Palmer looked at the blue box.

"Where will you go?" Emma asked the traveler after hugging her.

"He can't take me home. History says I went missing."

"But he can change history."

No, no, no, I can't, actually. There are fixed points in time, you see" Clara suddenly came up and grabbed his arm, pulling him away. "What?"

Clara made him stay back as Hila looked at Emma. "I knew you were there. I could feel you."

Emma smiled. "I know."

"Have we...?"

"We can't have. You haven't even been born yet."

The Doctor was able to pull away from Clara to cut in. "No, you can't have met but she can be your great, great, great, great, great granddaughter." He gestured at Palmer. "Yours too, of course. But you guessed that already, didn't you." He then saw their shocked faces. "Oh. Apparently not."

Palmer swallowed hard. "The paradoxes-"

"Resolve themselves, by and large. That's why the psychic link was so powerful. Blood calling to blood, out of time. Not everything ends. Not love. Not always."

"Doctor," Palmer called as the man made to go to the Tardis, "what about, um, what about us? Emma and me?"

"What about you?"

"Well, what's supposed to happen? I mean, what do we do now?"

"Hold hands." He replied, gesturing to where Palmer and Emma's hands were almost touching. "That's what you're meant to do. Keep doing that and don't let go. That's the secret."

He turned away, about to reach the Tardis when he stopped dead in his tracks.

Ember scoffed, making Clara look at her. "Penny drops. Now he's got it."

"Oh, I'm so slow!" The Doctor slapped himself on the forehead. "I am slow. I'm notorious for it. That's always been my problem. But, but I get there in the end. Oh yes!"

Clara and the others drew closer. "Doctor?"

"How do sharks make babies?"

"Carefully?"

"No, no, no. Happily!"

"Sharks don't actually smile. They're just, well, they've got lots and lots of teeth. They're quite eaty."

"So what?" Ember countered. "Just because they look mean doesn't mean they are."

"Exactly." The Doctor agreed, running off, followed by the girls. "But birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Every lonely monster needs a companion."

Ember tapped Clara on the shoulder and pointed to one of the upper windows of the house, where there was a shape looking at them: a twisted, crooked creature that was exactly like the one they'd seen in the pocket universe.

"There's two of them?" Clara asked, surprised.

"It's the oldest story in the universe, this one or any other. Boy and girl fall in love, get separated by events. War, politics, accidents in time. She's thrown out of the hex, or he's thrown into it. Since then they've been yearning for each other across time and space, across dimensions. This isn't a ghost story, it's a love story!" The Doctor patted Clara on the shoulder himself before he ran back the way they'd come to get back to where Emma, Palmer and Hila were still standing. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt the rest of your life. So. Tiny favour to ask."

Ember grinned.

* * *

"I'm sorry!" The Doctor yelled as he and Ember stood in the woods of the pocket universe again. "I understand now! I can take you to her! I can take you to a safe place far away from here! You can be together! Well, come on, then. She's waiting!"

There was a loud creaking, and then they turned to find the creature looming over them.

"Well, hello again, you old Romeo, you." The Doctor mused before he heard the sound of the Tardis approaching. "Now, here she comes. "Get ready to jump."

One well-placed leap later, and the woods were empty. The Tardis left the pocket universe with five occupants, ready to go to the next destination.

* * *

_Ember couldn't breathe. There was smoke everywhere, making her eyes sting and her throat burn as she coughed. She tried to find her way out, but there was fire everywhere, making it hard to tell which way was which._

_She was trapped. She was going to die..._

* * *

With a scream, Ember sat up in her bed, eyes wide. Her skin had a fine sheen of sweat as she looked around wildly, but there was no fire, no smoke. She was safe.

They'd gone to a planet where the creatures they'd rescued could live in peace, and dropped Clara off at the Maitlands family home. She'd decided to have a shower and then go to bed for a well-earned rest.

But instead of a rest, she'd had a nightmare.

Just as she got her breathing under control, the door to her room opened and the Doctor ran in. His jacket was missing and his bow tie was loose around his neck, giving her the impression that he'd been relaxing before he'd come running. "Ember? Are you alright?"

"... yeah." Ember replied, shifting her legs so that her feet could touch the floor. She was thankful that she was wearing a thin shirt and shorts to bed: the last thing she needed was to have him see her in her underwear. "I'm alright. Just a bad dream."

The Doctor moved to grab her desk chair and drag it over to the bedside, seating himself before he took her hands. "A bad one? With a scene?"

"What do you mean, a scene...?" Ember began, only to pause, looking at him. "I have a lot of these dreams, don't I?"

There was a moment as the Doctor looked at their joined hands. Ember was too distracted to notice that he was rubbing her left ring finger. A moment later, he spoke. "This is the first, but not the last dream you're going to have that involves more than just voices in a dark place. I believe they are memories of your past, before you started jumping around my timeline. You've told me some of them."

"Are they always going to be bad dreams?" Ember asked.

"No. Some of them aren't bad. But they are all important." The Doctor finally met her gaze. "Do you want to talk about this one?"

Ember sighed, pulling her right hand out of his grasp to rub her face. "There's not much to tell. Whereever I am, it's on fire. I couldn't get out, and I couldn't control the fire. I... was scared..."

"It's going to be confusing," the Doctor said. "These dreams, these... memories. But you've got to remember them."

"If they are memories..." Ember trailed off before she looked at him. "I don't know if I escaped that fire. I couldn't find a way out."

The two fell into silence for several minutes, and then the Doctor sighed. "Did you want me to stay with you?"

Ember's first thought was to refuse the offer, but then she looked away. "Just... until I fall asleep, maybe?"

"Of course."

The brunette shifted her legs back onto the bed and shifted over, patting the space she'd made when the Doctor looked at her in question. "Well, you'll get cramp sitting in that chair. And it's not like either of us have no clothes on. I dunno how long it'll be before I fall asleep, though. Maybe you should have a book to read?"

The Doctor, who had a light tint of pink on his cheeks, nodded as he took off his shoes and got on the bed, sitting up against the headboard but remaining on top of the covers. He hesitated before he moved his arm around the brunette's shoulders, gently easing her to rest her head on his shoulder. "I can talk, if you like. You've told me that listening to me helps you relax."

"It does?" Ember blinked. "Okay. Well... what do you normally talk about?"

"Oh, this and that. I tend to go on, and then at some point you've fallen asleep. Ah, I know: have you been to..."

He talked about certain places, Ember listening to him ramble, and it wasn't long before she fell asleep again. The Doctor didn't notice for a short while, but when he did, he smiled gently at her as he shifted carefully to tuck her back into bed, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Goodnight, Ember." He murmured softly before he picked up his shoes and left the room, allowing the tired brunette to rest peacefully.

* * *

And there we go!

I struggled a fair bit with this one. I was up in the air about wether Ember would follow the Doctor into the pocket universe from the start or have her jump in the second time around. I hope I did ok with it...

Next Time: Ember goes to school, deals with boyfriend troubles and fights a robot. Which is the worst?


	3. Chapter Three: The Caretaker

Chapter three, already. Slightly later in the day than planned, but I hope it was worth it.

I had a bit of a coin toss between this and another adventure with the 12th Doctor. After a good think, I decided that the other one would be better for later.

Remember I mentioned a reviewer saying the preview I made reminded them of something? Well, I misunderstood. I thought they were referring to a season trailer for a show _called_ America. What they actually meant was they were reminded of the trailer for DW season six, which had one been shown on the BBC's American channel. I apologise for the confusion, and I thank that reviewer for clearing it up for me.

Anyways, let's get on with it!

* * *

Chapter Three: The Caretaker

* * *

Ember had jumped mid-run, and ended up crashing into someone, whose arms quickly went around her to brace her so that neither of them fell. When the brunette looked up, she blinked as she realised she was in the Tardis, and the Twelfth Doctor was the one holding her. "Oh. Hi."

"Hello," He said, looking puzzled. They were both standing on the higher level of the console room. "You were running."

"Well, you would be too if you were being chased by angry locals because a certain someone insulted their leader. Oh, wait, you did." Ember replied as she moved out of his arms, though she couldn't help but notice how reluctant he seemed to allow it. "So, where are we now? What's going on?"

The Doctor saw the scar on her face, noticing that it still looked fairly new. "Well, we last saw you in the Bank of Karabraxos."

"Ah." Ember inwardly flinched. She was glad that she hadn't gone there after what happened with Rose - blocks or no blocks, her guilt would have meant her end if the Teller had seen her in her current state. "Ok, so that means... oh, it's the robot thing, isn't it?"

"The robot thing, yes." The Doctor said, rolling his eyes a little. "It's a Skovox Blitzer, by the way."

Ember flinched, misunderstanding the correction as a scolding. "Yea, sorry. Things get a bit muddled around this time..."

The Doctor looked over at her, noticing how she seemed to curl into herself a bit. His expression softened a little as he moved to her again and, after a moment of hesitation, reached out and pulled her to his side. He felt her tense slightly against him but was relieved when she didn't push him away. "How about helping me stop it from destroying a city, eh?"

Ember was about to reply when the door to the Tardis opened and Clara came walking in, though she froze when she saw the two.

"What's wrong?" Clara asked before she focused on the Doctor. "Did you upset her again?"

"Why would you assume that? Of course I didn't!"

Ember blinked as she listened to the two. He'd upset her before? When, and why?

"I was comforting her, that's all! What, am I not allowed to comfort my-"

"Ahem!" Clara cut him off by clearing her throat loudly, gesturing in Ember's general direction.

The Doctor looked at the brunette and apparently saw something she didn't, because he then sighed. "My friend. Can't I comfort my friend?"

That got Ember to look at him thoughtfully. Was she imagining it, or was he going to say something else before he saw whatever he saw?

Clara gave him a firm look. "Anyway. So, where we off to?"

"Clara, you look lovely today. Have you had a wash?" The Doctor said casually as he walked down the steps to console level. Ember felt her head spin at the abrupt change in topic, so she decided to let it go. She wasn't really in the mood to go prying for answers she probably won't get, anyway.

"Why are you being nice?"

"Because it works on you. Listen, I'm sorry but there's going to be no trip today. I'm sorry. Er, I've got to do a thing. It might take a while."

"What thing?" Clara asked, noticing that he was keeping the scanner out of her view.

"Just a thing."

"You're being mysterious, and do you know what means?"

"I'm a man of mystery?"

"Hmm. It means that you are a very clever man making the mistake, common to very clever people, of assuming that everybody else is stupid." She managed to get the scanner from him, only for him to switch it to a view of the galaxy instead. "Where are you going?"

"Undercover. Deep cover."

Clara gave him a look. "Can you do deep cover?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you seen you?"

Ember cleared her throat gently. "Actually, he can. I've seen him do it, a lot. You'd be surprised how well he blends in when he tries. Or even when he doesn't try."

"See?" The Doctor said. "I can do deep cover."

Clara giggled. "Where, the Magic Circle?"

The Doctor wasn't impressed as he snapped his fingers, making the Tardis doors open. "I'll see you when I see you."

Clara snapped her fingers, and the doors closed. "When's that?"

"When I see you." Snap, the doors opened again.

"Hmm. Hmm. I'll be sure to have a wash."

"Excellent. I was meaning to bring it up."

Clara gave him another look as she left, smiling at Ember as she passed. The Doctor waited until the doors closed - though Clara did come back for a second to give him the 'I'm watching you' gesture - before he looked at the scanner again, changing it back to what it had been showing previously. Ember moved to join him and looked at the screen to see a glowing area on a map of East London.

"It's always London, isn't it?" She asked aloud.

"It would be weird if it wasn't," the Doctor agreed, pressing some buttons. The map zoomed in to focus on a building. The words 'Coal Hill School' appeared next to it. "Ok, got a general lock. Won't know exactly where in the building until I can get a closer look."

Ember nodded, flinching in surprise as the Doctor shifted slightly so that he was behind her, putting her between him and the scanner. It looked innocent enough, but she was sure she felt the heat of him against her back as she tried to concentrate on the scanner. "Um... so, you need to find a way in. Maybe a teacher?"

The Doctor shook his head, seemingly oblivious to the effect he was having on her. "I'd have to go to classes and teach. I need access to the grounds without standing out."

"Um..." Ember had to think hard to get her mind back on the task at hand. "What about a member of staff that isn't a teacher? Like maybe a maintenance worker or cleaner?"

Nodding, the Doctor stepped back, making Ember let out a discreet sigh of relief as she stepped to the side. "I think I have another coat and a broom somewhere."

Ember didn't turn to face him, since her face was still a bit red. Because of that, she didn't notice the almost smug smirk that crossed his face for a moment.

* * *

In the school where Clara worked, all the teachers were in the staff room as the headmaster gave them instructions. "...Which means, Jo, you'll have to cover for 8/4M in L3. Hold on, there is just one more thing. Atif's off sick, so we've got a couple of newbies, I did ask them to come along..." There was a knock on the door. "Ah, here they are."

Clara was not expecting to see the Doctor and Ember walk into the room. While Ember hadn't changed her clothes, the Doctor now wore simple, brown overalls and was holding a broom.

"I'm the new caretaker." The Doctor said confidently. "John Smith."

Ember politely waved. "And I'm a trainee caretaker, here for work experience. My name is Ember. Nice to meet you."

"Welcome to Coal Hill, Mister Smith, Mrs Smith." The maths teacher - Danny Pink, the man Clara was developing feelings for - said as he shook hands with them.

"Thanks. Yes, John Smith's the name. The Smiths." The Doctor replied quickly before Ember could correct him. "But, you know, here's a thing. Most people just call me the Doctor." He shot a cheeky wink at Clara. "So, if anybody needs me, just, you know, give me a shout. I'll be in the storeroom just getting the lie of the land."

The staff filed out of the room, paying the two newcomers no mind.

"Yes, nobody's taking any notice at all." The Doctor said, somehow not drawing attention to himself. "Absolutely good news because it means I must be coming across just as an absolutely boring human being like you."

Clara mouthed a question 'What are you doing here?', but the Doctor simply closed the door on her.

"Deep cover. Deep cover." The Doctor muttered to himself as he quickly unfolded a large piece of paper from his pocket, revealing it to be a plan of the school buildings. "Ah, let's see. Any hints, Ember?"

"We're about to have company," Ember said simply as she hopped up to sit on a desk. Before the Doctor could ask, the door opened again and Clara slipped in before shutting it behind her. The Doctor was swift to screw up the paper and shove it into his pocket as he turned to face her.

"So, you recognised me, then." He said.

Clara blinked. "You're wearing a different coat."

"But you saw straight through that."

"Deep cover in my school? Why? Where's Atif, what have you done with him?"

The Doctor held out his broom like he was warding her off as the two circled each other. Ember found it amusing to watch. "He's fine. Hypnotised. He thinks he's got the flu. Also a flying car and three wives. It's going to be a rude awakening."

"Is it aliens?" Clara asked. "Oh, my God, is that why you're here? Are there aliens?"

"It's assembly." The Doctor waved her off. "You'd better get going. Go and worship something."

"Are there aliens in this school?"

"Listen, it's lovely talking to you, but I've really got to get on. I'm a caretaker now. Look, I've got a brush."

Clara stood her ground. "Doctor, is there an alien in this school?"

"Yes, two, me and Ember. Now, go. The walls need sponging and there's a sinister puddle."

"You can't do this. You cannot pass yourself off as a real person among actual people!"

"I lived among otters once for a month." The Doctor defended. "Well, I sulked. River and I, we had this big fight, and Ember got upset so we couldn't-"

Clara cut him off before he could go into a ramble. "Human beings are not otters!"

"Exactly. It'll be even easier." The Doctor smiled.

"Okay. One question." She moved to stand right in front of him, pushing the broom aside. "And you will answer this question. Are the kids safe?"

"No. Nobody is safe. But soon the answer will be yes, everybody is safe, if you let me get on. Now, pretend you don't know me. Stay out of my way."

Clara turned pleading eyes to Ember, who was caught out by it. "Is he telling the truth?"

"Um, yes." The brunette said after a moment. "There is danger here, but as long as everything goes to plan, everyone will be safe. No children get hurt."

The Doctor nodded. "The less you know, the better. I'll explain it all later. Go and sing with the otters."

Clara rolled her eyes at him. "I hate you."

"That's fine. That's a perfectly normal reaction."

Ember sighed as she hopped off the desk and followed the Doctor out of the room. "You know she's gonna be watching you like a hawk now."

The Doctor shrugged. "Let her. As long as she doesn't get in the way." He pulled out the crumpled map and tried to smooth out the creases. "Now, need to get an idea of the layout."

* * *

A few hours later, Ember was helping the Doctor by holding a ladder for him as he climbed up to a window on the second floor. The brunette knew that it was Clara's classroom, and low and behold, the companion came to the window and stood on a chair to address them.

"Can I help you, Mister Smith?" She asked.

"Wrong." Was all the Doctor said, turning to gesture for Ember to come up.

"I'm sorry?"

"On the board. Wrong. Wrong."

"Oh, no, no, no, no. You don't do this." Clara tried to hush him. "You are the caretaker, this is not what you do."

"Just taking care."

"Not your area!"

He gestured to Ember again. "Come and show her where it's wrong."

Ember reluctantly climbed after making sure the ladder wasn't going to move. She briefly wondered how she'd fit at the top to see into the class, but the Doctor gave her the answer by letting her stand a rung higher than him and practically covering her with his body, which made her blush and the children inside giggle among themselves. "Um, Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice in 1796."

Clara cleared her throat and addressed the class now that there was no point in avoiding the issue. "This is Mister and Mrs Smith, the temporary caretaker and trainee, and he's a bit confused..."

"Not in 1797, because she didn't have the time." The Doctor said over her, pointing at the board where indeed the wrong date was written. "She was so busy doing all-"

"Oh, What?" Clara's patience snapped. "I suppose she was your bezzie mate, was she? And you went on holidays together and then you got kidnapped by Boggons from space and then you all formed a band and met Buddy Holly!"

Everyone looked at her like she'd just sprouted a second head, and then the Doctor spoke calmly. "No, we read the book. There's a bio at the back."

The children giggled again as Clara sent the Time Lord a flat look. "Get down."

"Boggons?"

"Go." The bell rang at that moment, and Clara let out a breath. "Right, that's it. Well done, Kelvin. Get going. See you all in a couple of days. Thanks very much."

Ember managed to get the Doctor to climb back down the ladder, helping him fold it so they could move it easier. "Was poking into her classroom necessary?"

"Probably not, but she can't go teaching kids the wrong year." The Doctor explained as he took the ladder from her and began to walk away, making her jog to catch up with him. "But I put a generator on the windowsil so it wasn't a total waste of time."

* * *

In the courtyard, Clara was talking to a student when she noticed the Doctor and Ember talking to two teachers - one being a young man with floppy hair and a bow tie and the other being Danny Pink - while the Doctor worked in a junction box in the courtyard.

"Of course, Danny Pink here is your man, Mister Smith." The first teacher - Adrian - was saying. "Five years' military experience, sergeant, here and Afghan, so electrics, boilers, if you need a hand, give him a shout."

Clara took a watering can from a girl and used it as a cover so she could get closer and hear the conversation. She saw Ember catch sight of her and discreetly signaled for the brunette to stay quiet, which she did.

"I, I've helped Atif with a couple of things." Danny said.

"I'm sure I won't need you, Sergeant. Fully qualified, and I have Ember." The Doctor said, even as something sparked in the junction box. "You best get back to your PE class."

"Oh, I teach maths."

"Do you? What, in emergencies?"

"No. I'm a maths teacher."

"Yeah, he's a maths teacher-" Adrian began before he looked away at the sound of glass breaking. "Mohammed, put that down!"

As the man left, the Doctor looked at Danny. "How does that work? What if the kids have questions?"

"About what?" Danny asked.

"Maths."

"I answer them. I'm a maths teacher."

"But he said you were a soldier."

"Yeah. I was a soldier, now I'm a maths teacher."

"But what about all the PE?"

Danny let out a patient breath. "I don't teach PE. I'm not a PE teacher."

"Sorry, that seems very unlikely..."

"Er, excuse me." Clara said, gently cutting in. "Mister Pink, I think class 9M4 are waiting."

"Yes, you better run along, Sergeant." The Doctor said. "That ball isn't going to kick itself, is it?"

"I, I'm not a PE teacher, I'm a maths teacher."

"Nope, sorry. No, I can't retain that. I've tried. It's just not going in."

Danny looked a bit perplexed, but left, giving a polite nod to Ember as he walked away.

"So, Pink?" Clara said to the Doctor once they were alone. "The name remind you of anything?"

"Yeah. The colour."

"Colonel Orson Pink? The guy we met at the end of the universe."

"Oh, yeah. Okay, yeah. Same name, doesn't look anything like him though."

Clara rolled her eyes. "Looks very like him."

"Does he? I don't know. Who remembers a PE teacher?" The Doctor put a small device with green lights on it into the junction cabinet before he closed and locked it.

"Oh, never mind." Clara waved it off, having noticed the device. "What are you doing? What, what's in there?"

"So, is he here then?"

"...Is who here?"

"The one that you keep going on serious dates with."

"If he is, are you going to start talking like a normal human being?"

"I promise I won't. I'm being nice."

"Doctor-"

"Clara." Adrian ran up to them. "Got this period free, yes?"

"No. Yes." Clara smiled.

"Great. Shakespeare."

"Sorry, what, Adrian?"

The Doctor looked at the man and spotted the bow tie, coming to the wrong conclusion even as Ember tried to discreetly stop him. "Oh, I see."

"You see what?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Excuse me. We have to talk about The Tempest." Adrian led Clara into the building, apparently not noticing the Doctor following them and Ember trying to stop him from doing so. "In light of the changes to the sixth form Shakespeare module, blah-de-blah."

"Yes, sorry, of course." Clara said, before they both turned to look at the Doctor.

The Doctor who quickly pulled Ember to his side and tried to look innocent. "Yes, yes, no, of course, of course, yes. Don't mind this old man. You two kids just pop off together."

"Why are you talking like an idiot?" Clara asked behind a smile.

"I'm a caretaker. Don't mind me." He replied, watching the two as they walked on without them. "Oh, Clara..."

Ember shook her head at him. "You think she likes him because he's wearing a bow tie?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Clinging on to the past. It's what humans do, isn't it? She didn't see me at first, after all."

"Doctor, you know she didn't feel that way about you, right?" Ember asked gently. "She misses the bow tie, of course, but she understands better than any of your past companions that it's what's inside that matters."

To her surprise, the Doctor stepped closer to her, almost pinning her against the wall, though it was clear that he had no intentions on restricting her. "And you? Do you still see me?"

"Of course I do," She replied without hesitation. She reached up a hand to touch his face, blushing when he seemed to lean into the touch. "It's always you under there, even when you try to hide. The personalities are different, but it's the same mad man with a box who goes around helping wherever and however he can. And I will always believe that, even when you don't believe it."

The Doctor gave her a fond look, but before he could speak, the sound of giggling made them break out of their little world and look to find a small group of children were pointing and giggling at them, though they dispersed quickly when they realised they were spotted.

"Um, right, we'd better get back to work," Ember said as she cleared her throat, shifting so that she could step away from the wall.

The Doctor let out a sigh as he followed her down the corridor. The two of them got back to it, making up the rouse of checking or cleaning the lights so he could put more generators in them. At one point he spotted a bit of graffiti written on a window and huffed. 'Ozzie loves the Squaddie'? Really? "What does that mean? Kids. What's the matter with kids today?"

Ember shrugged as she handed him a cloth so he could wipe the window clean. "Kids and rumours. It's a deadly mix. I didn't get on well in school because of that."

"No?" He asked as he got down from the ladder and moved on, leading them back outside to find a drain. "Were there rumours about you?"

"Not nice ones. I caught head lice once and someone found out, but even after I got rid of them, the other kids treated me like I had some infectious disease, so whenever I touched something they'd steer clear of it. 'Don't want to get your nits', they'd say." Ember leaned against a wall as the Doctor knelt by a drain to plant another generator. "In art, I asked a girl for her red paint. She ran around the whole class giving every other table a massive top up before giving me the bottle, just so no one else would have to touch it. It barely had any left, and no one would give me any more. I was always alone at the table. No one wanted to sit with me."

The Doctor stood after he was done with the drain, facing her and putting his hands on her shoulders to make her look at him. "If I was there, I'd have sonicked the bottle so it exploded and got paint on them. Then I would have sat right next to you."

Ember smiled, which pleased him as that was his intention. "Wish I'd known you then. Could have run away ages ago."

"Well, you have me now."

"Yeah." Ember nodded, watching as some kids kicked a football into the giant chess pieces that were on a chessboard that was painted on the ground, and Clara appeared to make the kids stop and help her clear up.

The Doctor whistled innocently as he and Ember left, putting one last device into one of the hanging plant baskets by the door. "And one for luck."

Ember debated taking the device out again, but the Doctor was already leading her back into the school.

* * *

The Time Lords made their way to the storeroom, where the Doctor had parked the Tardis.

"Okay. Now we're in business." He said, taking his Sonic out of his pocket, pulling Ember into the Tardis with him. "Let's see the lie of the land. Time to see what's going on."

Ember grinned as the room was illuminated in green light, only to jump as she thought she heard a voice from outside the Tardis.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most dangerous of them all?" The Doctor continued, just as the green light went out.

Ember moved to the door just in time to hear a voice and spot the owner; a young girl with dark skin and fluffy black hair wearing a school uniform. "There's been a spillage in Geography, I need some paper towels."

The Doctor heard the voice too, and he joined Ember at the door to the Tardis so that they both leaned out of it. He saw the girl and frowned. "Can't you read?!"

"Course I can read." The girl replied. "Read what?"

"The door. It says, 'Keep Out'."

"No, it says, 'Go Away Humans'."

The Doctor moved to the door and turned the sign to see for himself. "Oh, so it does. Never lose your temper in the middle of a door sign."

"I did offer to write it for you," Ember said as she closed the Tardis door behind her, leaning on it as the girl approached.

"What was you doing in there?" She asked. "What's that box?"

"The caretaker's box." The Doctor replied, moving so that he stood between the girl and the box. "Every caretaker has their own box."

"It says Police."

The Doctor was quick to grab a roll of paper towels and hand it to the girl. "Exactly, there's a policeman in there, in case of emergencies and children. Towels, there, g-g-go."

"What was that green glow? There was a green glow coming from in there. What was it?"

"Of course there was. What's a policeman without a death ray?" The school bell rang, and the Doctor led her back to the door. "Oh, listen, there's the bell. Off you go. Haven't you got shoplifting to go to?"

"I'm going to tell the Headmaster. I'll tell him you and her were snogging in here."

Ember choked slightly, though the Doctor didn't fall for the ploy. "Oh, yes, fine. Well, cut along, you're running out of time."

That made the girl pause. "For what?"

"Everything. Human beings have incredibly short life spans. Frankly, you should all be in a permanent state of panic. Tick tock, tick tock."

"...You're weird."

"Yes, I am. What about you?"

"I'm a disruptive influence."

The Doctor took her hand and shook it. "Good to meet you."

"And you."

"Now get lost."

"Okay." She turned to leave just as Clara arrived. "Hello, miss. Love to the Squaddie."

"Sorry, what did you say?" Clara looked back, but the girl ignored her, so she turned to face the Doctor again. "What was she doing in here?"

"Paper towels." The Doctor replied as he moved to put the extra ones back where he'd found them. "Now, I imagine you have many questions. Fire away. I won't answer any of them."

"What were they like?"

The Doctor looked at her. "What were who like?"

"The others before me. Did they let you get away with this kind of thing? This school is in danger."

"Well, it's lucky we're here, then."

"_From_ you."

"Me?"

"You wouldn't be here if there wasn't an alien threat nearby." Clara pointed out. "Your strategy for dealing with it involves endangering this school."

"That's not fair, Clara," Ember spoke at last, making the other woman look at her. "After everything you've seen, you can't possibly think that the Doctor means trouble. You know him better than that."

"I don't know anything because he hasn't told me anything, which means I wouldn't approve, which means you are endangering this school." Clara expected the Doctor to argue, but instead he pointed his Sonic to the side and made a green sphere appear out of thin air. "What's that?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "It's a scanner. I'm scanning. Why do I keep you around?"

"Because the alternative would be developing a conscience of your own. Scanning for what?"

"Any alien technology in this vicinity should show up. I used to have a teacher exactly like you once."

"You still do. Pay attention." The green sphere displayed something; a machine that looked like a four-legged wheelchair with an alien sitting in it. "What the hell is it?"

The Doctor sighed. "A Skovox Blitzer. One of the deadliest killing machines ever created. Probably homed in here because of artron emissions. You've had enough of them in this area over the years. There's enough explosive in its armoury to take out the whole planet."

"Then leave it alone." Clara said.

Ember made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a scoff. "Big alien thing with big guns and probably a bad attitude. What do you think will happen if it sees something that might be misunderstood as a threat? A yelling person, perhaps, or maybe a kid accidentally hitting it with a football. You think it'll just shrug and wander off into the sunset?"

The Doctor nodded. "Sooner or later it will creep from its hidey-hole and some military idiot will try to attack it." He turned off the image. "The world is full of PE teachers."

Clara huffed, but didn't argue as she followed the Time Lords into the Tardis.

"So, your insanely dangerous plan is...?" She asked, only to blink as the Doctor held up what looked like a digital wrist watch. "A new watch. Tiny bit disappointed."

The Doctor shook his head as he slipped the watch over his wrist. "This is a very special watch."

With the dramatic press of a button, he seemingly vanished into thin air. Ember smiled from where she'd sat on the last step of the stairs that led up.

"Doctor?" Clara called, only to jump when she felt something tap her nose. "Oi! Ow! Did you just flick my nose? You're invisible." She grinned and looked around in glee. "Ha, ha! Oh, my God, that's incredible."

"Correct. I am invisible and I am incredible." The Doctor said, leaving no clue on where he was. "It's simply a matter of reversing light waves. Hang on, I'm coming back."

"All right, where are you?"

The Doctor reappeared a few feet away from them. "So, I give the Blitzer a tiny whiff of non-threatening alien tech, I lead it back here, but I don't want it to scan me, hence invisible."

"So you're, you're leading the thing here?" Clara's smile fell. "To a school? My, my school?"

"My school? Oh, that is telling. This is the only suitably empty place in the area. I've set up a circle of time mines around the school. Chronodyne generators. Bit unstable." He picked up one of the devices he'd planted around the school and tossed it to Clara. "I switch them on, the Blitzer gets sucked into a big old time vortex, billions of years into the future. It's dead easy. Tiny bit boring. I'll need a book and a sandwich."

"And me. You're not doing this alone." Clara said, handing him back the device.

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't need you this time. I have Ember. We'll see you tomorrow. We'll go somewhere nice. Ancient Egypt. Crocodilopolis. They worship a big crocodile there, so the name is a useful coincidence. Go and canoodle with your boyfriend." He smirked when Clara paused and turned slowly to face him. "Come on. I wasn't born yesterday. Far from it."

"You did recognise him." Clara murmured.

"Possibly reminded me of a certain dashing young time traveller."

Ember sighed. He still had it wrong.

"Oh, of course you recognised him. I... Sorry. Stupid. I... I underestimated you."

"It's easily done. There's a lot to estimate."

"And you, you like him?"

"Yes, I like him very, very much. Go home and canoodle. Doctor's orders. Come on!"

Clara grinned, backing away. "Just this once, I'm doing what I'm told."

"Oh, sing hosanna."

"Ah. So easy."

Ember waited until Clara had left before she spoke. "You'll be in for a surprise later."

The Doctor glanced at her. "How do you mean?"

"Never mind."

* * *

That night, Ember waited in the assembly hall, keeping an eye on the circle of chairs that each had a generator on it. She knew the Doctor was out looking for the Blitzer and Danny and Clara were on the school grounds, so she decided to wait in case they came early.

She bit her lip as the lights on each device went from green to red. That meant that Danny had found the first one and had accidentally deactivated it.

A short time later, the doors to the hall burst open seemingly on their own, and then the Doctor turned off his watch and became visible again.

"What?" He blurted as soon as he saw that the devices were no longer lit green. "Red? Red. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

The Blitzer burst into the hall at that moment. _"Range-one-point-four-nine-scan-complete-problem-problem."_

The Doctor turned to face it. "Listen. I'm unarmed. I'm peaceful. Do you understand? I, I know that you shouldn't be on this planet but I can help you with that."

_"Problem. Solution. Destroy."_

The doors burst open again, and this time it was Danny. "I want a word with you."

"Get back!" The Doctor and Ember yelled as the Blitzer turned the upper half of its body to face Danny.

_"Problem. Solution. Destroy."_ The Blitzer started shooting. Danny ducked and throw himself to the floor as the wall and the chairs stacked against it exploded behind him, dropping the device in his hand. It slid into the circle of chairs and turned green. Then he picked up a chair to attack the Blitzer. "No! Get away from me!"

Ember moved quickly, concentrating hard. Flames jumped into life around the Blitzer, but she had to focus hard to keep them from spreading out.

The Doctor used the extra seconds to point his screwdriver, activating the generators and opening up a swirling, golden vortex that immediately yanked the chair out of Danny's hands and into it. The man fell to the ground again and tried to back-pedal as the Blitzer was forced to back away from Ember's flames and towards the vortex.

_"Temporal disrupt."_ It said. _"Warning. Warning. Temporal failure."_

Clara burst into the hall and quickly ran to help Danny get back as she saw Ember staring at the flames with pure silver eyes. "No! No, no, no, no! Doctor, stop! Doctor!"

_"Warning: system failure."_ Ember ignored the robot as she forced the flames forward, making it step back and get caught in the vortex. _"Abort. Abort."_

It finally disappeared into the vortex, and the Doctor closed it, falling back. Ember gasped as she let the flames die out, dropping to one knee as her head pounded.

The Doctor was about to go to check on the brunette before he spotted the device that Danny had dropped. He picked it up and grumbled. "Oh, oh, well done, PE, brilliant work! What's this? A chronodyne generator? I'll just deactivate that, shall I? I've got a swimming certificate so that qualifies me to meddle with higher technology. Never mind that some people are actually trying to save the planet. Oh, no. There's only room in my head for cross-country and the offside rule."

"Danny, what are you doing here?" Clara asked as the Doctor moved to Ember's side to check on her.

"I was checking up on him." Danny said, standing up. "He's been up to something, fiddling with the electric, but what the...? No... What? Did you see that thing? Tell me you saw that thing."

"I saw the thing, yeah. Doctor, are we safe? Is the planet safe? It's gone?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, for the moment." The Doctor said as he helped Ember to her feet. "But the thing is, you see, the chronodyne generators have to be precisely aligned to generate the vortex. But the sergeant here, he went and moved one."

"But the chronodyne worked. It's gone."

The Doctor pointed his Sonic at the ground where the vortex had been, doing a scan. Unnoticed by him, Ember moved away. "But not far enough. The vortex will open here again, but not in a billion years."

Danny watched in growing shock as Ember moved carefully to where the chairs were still burning and held out her hand, closing it into a fist and making the flames go out like magic.

"Then when?" Clara asked.

"Er, seventy four hours. Three days?" The Doctor looked at Danny again as the teacher turned to face them. "Three days to think of something new because now it knows what to expect. Now it has scanned me and it will kill me on sight, thanks to PE here."

Danny looked at Clara as Ember moved to sit on the nearest chair, the Doctor sitting next to her as he wrote in a notebook. "Clara, why are you talking to him like that? Why are you using words like chronodyne? Was that thing a space thing? Oh. Oh, my God, you're from space. You're a spacewoman. You said you were from Blackpool."

Ckara looked at him in shock for a few moments before she blurted out the first thing she could think of. "It's a play! For the summer fete."

"It's a what?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes, it's a play." Clara pointed at him warningly. "Shut up, it is a play. We are rehearsing a play. Shh, shh, shh, shh. A surprise play. And, er, you see, the vortex thing is, is a lighting effect. Very clever. And that thing is, is one of the kids. In fancy dress. Really, really good fancy dress."

Danny have her a flat look. "How stupid do you think I am?"

"I'm willing to put a number on it." The Doctor deadpanned, wincing as Ember lightly slapped him on the arm.

"I'm not a moron, Clara. I just saw that girl make fire and then put it out with her bare hands. And he's not the caretaker... He's your dad. Your space dad."

The Doctor rolled his eyes as he stood up and moved to stand beside Clara, putting the notebook back in his pocket. "Oh, genius. That is, that is really, really brilliant reasoning. How can you think that I'm her dad when we both look exactly the same age?"

"We do not look the same age." Ckara said.

"I was being kind. Right, I'm going to hypnotise him. I'm going to erase his memory."

Clara saw him get out his Sonic and jumped to stand between the two men. "Doctor, stop!"

"Tiny little brain, only take a moment."

"He's my boyfriend."

"Well, I'll try not to erase the whole thing. I'll leave the bits that-"

"He's my boyfriend." Clara said again. "I thought you'd figured this out."

The Doctor paused. "Him?"

"Yes, him."

"No, he's not."

"Yes, he is."

"Yes, I am."

"But he's a PE teacher. You wouldn't go out with a PE teacher. It's a mistake. You've made a boyfriend error."

Danny rolled his eyes. "I am not a PE teacher. I am a maths teacher."

"You're a soldier. Why would you go out with a soldier? Why not get a dog or a big plant?"

"Because I love him!" Clara blurted.

The Doctor looked almost offended. "Why would you say that? Is this part of the surprise play?"

Clara sighed. "There is no surprise play."

"Oh, it's a roller coaster with you tonight, isn't it? What about the handsome one, the one with the bow tie?"

"Who? Adrian? No, no, no. He's just a friend and not my type."

Danny stepped in. "Clara, are you going to explain any of this? Who are these two?"

"The Doctor is..."

"Go on." The Doctor said.

"Yes, explain." Danny urged. "Who are they? Why have you never mentioned them?"

"Because...he's an alien."

Ember raised a hand. "Me too, by the way." She gently grabbed the Doctor's hand when he was close enough. "You might need to show him proof."

Danny blinked before looking at Clara as the Doctor made his way to the stage. "Er, are you an alien?"

"No, no, no, I'm still from Blackpool. Me and the Doctor and Ember, we travel through time and space."

"Exhibit A." The Doctor announced as he shoved the curtains on the stage back to reveal the Tardis that he'd put there earlier in the night.

"It's called a Tardis, but it's disguised as an old police phone box." Clara explained, running up and onto the stage as the Doctor quietly fed her the next line. "And it's bigger on the inside than the outside."

The Doctor opened the Tardis doors. "Voila."

"And we travel the universe in it." Clara said as Danny leaned into the blue box and looked around, then looked at the outside before looking inside again.

Finally, he stepped back, looking at the Doctor. "And what about that thing? Did you bring that here?"

"No." The Doctor said. "I'm going to protect you from that thing."

"You said it was coming back."

"Yes, it is coming back, thanks to you."

"This is a school." Danny looked between the Doctor and Clara. "We have to evacuate, call the Army."

"Bad idea," Ember called from where she was still sitting on the chair, though she had turned to sit sideways in it so she wouldn't have to twist her neck. "If it sees something it considers a threat, it will attack. That's why it shot at you when you surprised it; it thought it was in an ambush. Getting military running in here pointing guns will make it go berserk."

"And that is the most dangerous thing right there." The Doctor added as he closed the Tardis doors and looked at Clara. "Are you sure hypnotising's not on the menu?"

"Yes."

Danny shook his head. "But we need to get help. This is an emergency."

"Look, take him away. Shut him up, shut him down. Up or down, it doesn't matter to me. I've got a lot of work to do. Again." The Doctor said, clearly agitated.

Clara looked at him. "Will you be okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay? I was fine till you two blundered in."

"Am I just being ignored?" Danny said.

Clara led him by the arm down the steps and towards the door on the far side of the hall. "Come on, Danny. It's all right, it's... Come on, it's all fine. You'll be okay. Let's er, get those legs moving. That's it, down those stairs. Yep, that's it. This can all be explained and everything will be fine."

"And when this is all over, you can finish the job." The Doctor said, making her turn to look at him.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, you've explained me to him. You haven't explained him to me."

Clara didn't have anything to counter that, so she led Danny out of the hall. The Doctor moved to Ember's side and scanned her with his Sonic, frowning at the results.

"You didn't have to use your powers," he said. "You're still learning to control them. How many elements have you triggered so far?"

"Two. Fire and water, though I haven't had a chance to practice with water yet." Ember replied, rubbing her temple. "Feels like I'm using heavy weights in my head when I use them."

"It's like using a muscle you haven't moved for ages. It takes time to loosen up," the Doctor sighed. "Did you know he was going to blunder in?"

"Yes. And before you ask; no, I couldn't warn you. Certain things needed to happen the way they have. I did say that you'd be in for a surprise though."

"Yes. Now, you rest a moment. When you feel up to it, you can help me reconfigure the generators."

* * *

_She was running. She couldn't remember where she was going, or why. But she had to get there, and fast. Before it was too late. She was wearing a thin nightgown, indicating that she'd been in or was about to go to bed when whatever she was running for made her do so._

_The corridor seemed longer than it should have been, but she reached the end of it, bursting through a large door that could have admitted someone thrice her height. The room beyond was vast and had shelves all around, filled with books. Her first thought was that it was a library, but that felt wrong somehow._

_There was one person in the room, their back to her so she could only see a red and gold robe. The sight made her angry._

_"What the Hell are you doing?!" She yelled._

_The figure straightened, turning to face her..._

* * *

Ember sat up in her bed, panting. She hadn't been able to see the other person's face before she woke up, but she'd seemed to already know who it was and did not like them.

Leaning forward slightly to rest her elbows on her knees, she was glad that she hadn't shouted out this time: she wasn't sure how this version of the Doctor would be able to comfort her, given that he wasn't fond of hugs.

Then again, she mused, he _was_ acting very slightly different than he did in the show. Most would have missed it because they didn't know any different, but Ember had seen it: he was a little less against physical contact, especially with her. He'd hugged her, moved closer to her, comforted her...

With a huff, the brunette lay back again, staring up at the ceiling in thought. Come to think of it, the Doctor's general behavior seemed to have a slight difference, regardless of what regeneration he was on. But why? It couldn't just be because of her, she was sure if that. So what happened?

Those thoughts, as well thoughts about her dream, kept her up most of the night.

* * *

The next day, later in the afternoon, the Doctor was working on something in the Tardis - which was back in the storeroom - while Ember was sat at the bottom of the steps leading to the upper galley. There wasn't much she could do with technology, so she opted to just quietly keep him company, and he didn't seem bothered with that. She hadn't told him about her latest dream yet, figuring that it was something she could talk to him about after they'd dealt with the killer robot.

The door to the Tardis opened and Clara stepped in, holding the door open for a few extra moments before she closed it.

"Afternoon." The Doctor greeted as he saw her. He still seemed a little annoyed at her, barely glancing in her direction, but was at least civil. "Thanks for keeping out of my way. You haven't brought Dave with you, I hope."

"His name's Danny. And no, I haven't." Clara replied. "I've uh, I explained it all to him. He gets it. He took it really well."

The Doctor nodded, gesturing to a tool. "Pass me that synestic."

"So, when the Blitzer comes back, are you going to catch him with that?"

"It'll be a long, fiddly job. It's going to take me at least twenty four hours. Even longer if people keep talking to me, so do keep going."

Clara glanced over at Ember, who shrugged. "If it comes back Thursday night, are you sure about that? Cos you said the chronodyne is unstable."

"If you want bother someone, go and bother PE."

"He's a maths teacher."

"That's a shame, I like maths."

"Not a soldier."

The Doctor suddenly paused.m, like an idea had struck him. "Interesting..."

"What is?" Clara asked.

"I'm bored. Let's go somewhere fun." The Doctor stood and moved around the console, setting controls. "What do you say? Do you want to see the Thames frozen over? Oh, those Frost Fairs. Ember, have you been to one yet?"

"No," the brunette called back, standing up and moving to stand by the console.

"Oh, you'll love it! Actually, I think you might be going to one soon..."

Clara followed him, reversing anything he was doing on the console. "But you can't. The Skovox thing!"

"It's a time machine. We can get back straightaway, like we always do on your dates. Just make sure you don't get yourself a tan or anything, or lose a limb."

Ember felt the light hairs on her right arm stand on end. Without looking - not that she'd see anything - she somehow knew that there was another person standing just behind and to the right of her. She lowered her voice so that the arguing couple wouldn't hear her as she spoke. "I know you're there, and so does he. He's testing you."

There was no verbal response, but she sensed him move slightly back.

"I just think, with the school in danger-" Clara had been saying before Danny appeared out of nowhere behind Ember, having turned off the watch that made him invisible. She looked at him in surprise. "Danny, why are you...?"

"He already knows I'm here." Danny said. "That's why he's talking like that. He's being clever."

The Doctor kept a neutral expression on his face. "Now that you mention it, being a Time Lord, I can feel a light shield aura when it's right next to me."

"Oh ho, ho. Time Lord?" Danny mocked. "Might have known."

"Might have known what?"

"Well, the accent's good, but you can always spot the aristocracy. It's in the... the attitude."

Clara didn't like where this was going. "Danny-"

"Now, Time Lords, do you salute those?"

"Definitely not." The Doctor said firmly.

"Ah. Sir!" Danny did just that, much to the ire of the Time Lord.

"And you do not call me sir."

"As you wish, sir. Absolutely, sir."

"And you can get out of my Tardis!"

"Immediately, sir!"

Clara followed the two men. "Doctor, this is stupid, this is unfair."

"I agree with her," Ember piped up as she trailed behind. "And I mean for both of you."

Danny stopped just before the doors. "One thing, Clara. I'm a soldier, guilty as charged. You see him? He's an officer."

Ember was sure she saw the Doctor's eye twitch at that, knowing that it was striking a nerve. "I am not an officer!"

"I'm the one who carries you out of the fire. He's the one who lights it." Danny glanced at Ember. "Or maybe she's the one doing the lighting, since she can burn things."

The Doctor had heard enough. "Oi! How dare you come in here and talk to my wi-wonderful friend that way! Out. Now!"

"Right away, sir." Danny said, turning to face the Doctor. "Straight now?"

"Yes."

"Am I dismissed?"

"Yes, you are!"

Danny smirked in triumph, looking at Clara. "That's him. Look at him, right now. That's who he is."

The Doctor glared hard at him until he was out of the Tardis, and then he faced the ladies. "On balance, I think that went quite well."

Clara twiddled with her thumbs before she followed Danny out of the Tardis.

"Danny, it's not time to go home yet." She called after him, leaving the storeroom. "It's parents' evening."

The Doctor sighed heavily. "Humans. I never learn."

Ember tilted her head before she looked past him. "I know you're there, kid."

The young student who'd interrupted them before stepped out from behind some shelves. "What's in the box? It's not really a policeman, is it?"

The Doctor did not have the patience to make up something, so he went with the truth. "You want to know what's in that box? I'll tell you what's in that box. It's a time machine. It also travels in space. And it usually contains a man who just wants to get on with his work of preventing the end of the world, but keeps being interrupted by boring little humans."

The girl had looked inside the Tardis by this point, her mouth dropping open at the interior. "Cool. So, that's really a spaceship?"

"I'm serious." The Doctor said as he pulled her back by the back of her collar before she stepped inside. "I'm trying to save this planet."

"End of the world for me tonight, whatever you do. Parents' evening."

"Is your name really Disruptive Influence?"

Ember gently nudged him with her elbow. "Oh, sure, I can see it now. 'I've just had a beautiful baby girl, so I'm going to give her a complex by calling her Dicsruptive Influence.' Really?"

The girl smiled. "Courtney Woods. Can I go in space?"

"I'll let you know. I may have a vacancy." The Doctor guided her back to the door. "But not right now." He sighed once the door closed behind the girl. "Two days. I can do it."

Ember followed him back into the Tardis. "Um... actually, it's gonna be less than that."

That made the Doctor look at her. "What?"

"I'm saying, don't waste time. How soon can you do it, if you had to?"

"... Twenty five minutes? Thirty at the most."

Ember nodded. "Then go."

The Doctor didn't bother to ask more questions. He went back to work, surprising managing to get most of it done.

It was as about twenty minutes later, when he was carrying a toolbox away, when the scanner suddenly began to beep. "No, no, no. No! No, no, no, no, no!"

Ember was already ahead of him, helping him get the contraption he'd been working on - which looked suspiciously like a Ghostbusters backpack prop - onto his back before they ran from the Tardis, down the halls and to the gymnasium where Parents Evening was taking place. Featuring wildly, they were able to get Clara and Danny out of the room and to the playground.

"What's happening?" Clara asked him as he took off the back and put it in the floor.

"Clara, the vortex is opening."

"You said Thursday night." Danny said. "Right, hall, quick."

"PE, shut up." The Doctor snapped at him. "Clara, it'll scan the area. If it gets to parents' evening, it'll kill them all."

"We've got to evacuate."

"Shut up!"

Clara cut in to get them back on track. "Quickly. What do I do?"

The Doctor handed her his Sonic. "It'll be here any second. Get to the hall. Give it some squirts of helicon energy, setting number forty one. No more than three seconds each, random pulses. Distract it, then you lead it away from the hall, give me two minutes."

"Then what?"

"Just run straight to the Tardis."

"But your gadget isn't ready yet." Danny argued. "Twenty four hours, you said."

"Yes, well, I've revised that down to two minutes. Probably. Clara, go."

"On my way." Clara ran left.

Danny looked shocked. "You're using her like a decoy?"

"No, not like a decoy. As a decoy. Don't they teach you anything at stupid school?" The Doctor picked up the contraption.

"Well, is there anything I can do?"

"Yes. Yes, and this is very, very important. Leave us alone!"

He ran right, leaving Danny behind. Ember, to the teacher's surprise, stayed for a moment.

"You still have the watch?" She asked. Danny nodded. "The Blitzer can't see you with that on. Use it. Follow Clara. Watch her back."

She took off after the Doctor. Thanks to the weight of his contraption, she was able to catch up with him. He didn't bother asking what made her take longer, and the two of them ran back to the storeroom.

It was only a minute later when Clara ran in, only getting far enough into the room to avoid the explosion as the doors were destroyed by the pursuing Blitzer.

_"Destroy. Destroy."_ It declared as it stepped into the storeroom.

"Doctor, now!" Clara cried. "It's got to be now!"

"Twenty seconds!" The Doctor called back as Ember helped him get the backpack on.

_"Destroy. Destroy."_

"Doctor!" Clara dodger another attack, reaching them and helping the brunette.

"Am I green? Am I green?" The Doctor called, gesturing to the lights on the back of the pack.

"You're green!"

The Doctor grabbed a microphone that was attached to the pack, similar to one's that a sports commentator would use, and put it up to his lips. "Stop! Skovox Blitzer!"

To Clara's surprise, the machine stopped its attack and looked at them. _"Awaiting orders."_

"Superior Skovox Artificer. Analyse stop, analyse stop."

_"Superior recognised. Pattern one one oh, Orders. Orders."_

"Why's it listening to you?" Clara asked.

"Listening to its superior. This is a rough copy. It thinks I'm its general." The Doctor said before he put the mic to his lips again. "Initiate input. Commence shutdown protocol. No conflict. Conclusion?"

_"Problem solution."_

"Conclusion."

_"Final input code missing. Emergency terminate."_ The Blitzer's eyes changed from blue to red. _"Initiate self-destruct in nine... eight..."_

"The input code. I forgot the final input code." The Doctor grabbed a small keyboard that was also attached to his pack, typing.

_"Seven... six... five-"_

"Do it now!" Clara cried.

"I need time. Distract it, Clara!"

"Me? What can I do?"

_"Three... two... one..."_

"Oi, Skovox. Over here!"

The new voice made them looked behind the Blitzer as it turned around. Danny appeared from nowhere - literally - and ran up, doing a perfect somersault over the machine as it raised its weapons to defend itself.

_"Under attack."_ It said, distracted as it fired at the ceiling.

The Doctor was finally ready as Danny held Clara. "Artificer Artificer! Stop! Confirm stop override final input code."

_"Code accepted. Abort self-destruct. Orders accepted."_ The Blitzer lowered its weapons, it's voice slowing down as it shut down. _"Stop... stop... stop..."_

Clara laughed in relief as she hugged Danny tightly. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God, you were amazing! Oh, my God, you were so brilliant!"

"Well, yeah, I was okay, wasn't I?" Danny said with a shrug. "I was behind you every step of the way. Had to make sure you were safe. Ember gave me a hint." He turned to the Doctor, who was now facing them, and held out the watch. "You okay?"

"Okay." The Doctor said as he took the watch back.

"Just okay?" Clara asked.

"It's all right, it doesn't matter." Danny said. "I don't need him to like me. It doesn't matter if he likes me or hates me, I just need to do exactly one thing for you. Doctor, am I right?"

The Doctor hesitated. "Yes."

Clara blinked, puzzled. "What? What one thing?"

"I need to be good enough for you." Danny said gently. "That's why he's angry. Just in case I'm not. He's been testing me, like Ember said."

Clara looked between them as the Doctor examined the Blitzer. She could see Ember smile knowingly. "He, er... he did just save the whole world."

"Yeah, yeah." The Doctor admitted. "Good start."

Ember left his side to walk up to Danny, using the distraction of the robot to have a moment alone with the human. "Please understand. The Doctor is very old, and he cares for his companions so much, because they're the closest thing to a family he's got left."

Danny tilted his head. "What about you? I've seen him look at you like you're his whole world."

"I'm the closest thing he's got to his world, other than the Tardis. I'm like him, but not completely." Ember shrugged, ignoring how her hearts seem to flutter and twist at the same time. "But I don't know why. I'm more of a mystery than he is."

"So... do you trust me with Clara?"

"Yes. And there's a very big reason why. Maybe someday I'll be able to tell you."

She turned to go back to the Doctor's side, missing the thoughtful look Danny sent her.

* * *

A short time later, the Doctor had left Danny and Clara, taking the Blitzer our into space to let it drift away harmlessly. He and Ember watched him go, along with Courtney, who was holding onto the doorframe for dear life.

"Farewell, Skovox Blitzer." The Doctor said, now dressed in his usual black coat again. "Have a nice war. So, Courtney Woods, impressed yet?"

Courtney looked slightly green. "Actually, I'm feeling a bit ill..."

"Ah, it can be a bit overwhelming. But look." The Doctor pointed out at a cluster of stars. "The Olveron Cluster. A million stars, a hundred million inhabited planets."

Courtney gagged and turned, running away and down the stairs. Ember winced as they heard her throwing up.

"Ah, yes." The Doctor sighed. "There has been a spillage."

"I'm not cleaning that up." Ember said quickly. "I'll add to it if I try."

"The Doctor gave her a patient smile as he stood and closed the Tardis doors.

* * *

Ok, and there we have it. Chapter three done! And not only do we get another dream for Ember, but we get a glance at her past as well. Hope you enjoyed it.

I've been watching a show called Good Omens, which stars David Tennant. If you like him, I think you'll love this program. It's currently on Amazon Prime Video, but I think they mentioned that it'll be on BBC tv at some point. The story is based on a book by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, if that helps too.

In fact, I've been tempted to start writing a fic on that too...

Next time: Ember faces the Daleks again. But this time it isn't just her own temper she has to deal with.


	4. Chapter Four: Victory of the Daleks

Chapter Four! Going strong! This one was a bit late cuz I was debating all day wether to include a certain scene or not. Ending up being not.

I'm glad there are readers that like Good Omens too! I'm... actually toying with the idea of doing a crossover with DW - I'd laugh if there'd been a scene where the Doctor sees himself as ginger. As it is, I'm already writing scraps for a GO fic, with AND without the DW influence.

Anyways, on to the chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Four: Victory of the Daleks

* * *

Ember huffed as she landed at her next destination. She'd wanted to go to bed and at least attempt to sleep, but she _had_ to go and jump. The only reassurance she had was that she'd jumped before she had taken off her clothes. Because she'd previously been at a party, she was wearing a pair of neat trousers and a shirt (she refused to wear a dress, so it was as close to a suit as she could pull off - just shy of the outfit Clara wore when they 'robbed' the bank), and had even put makeup on her face to hide her scar. She hadn't even had the chance to remove the makeup before she jumped.

Although, it would have been nicer if she hadn't been immediately greeted by three soldiers pointing rifles at her. "Um... hi."

Before anyone could answer, the familiar wheezing of the Tardis appeared, and Ember felt the wood settle against her back. The door opened right beside her and the Eleventh Doctor poked his head out. As soon as he saw the brunette, he hugged her tight with a grin. "Ember!"

Amy was just able to squeeze her way through the door as well, just as a slightly overweight man wearing a suit, glasses and holding a cigar entered the room - which Ember quickly realised was a filling room - and smiled at them, the soldiers moving aside to let him through.

The Doctor saw the man and smiled. "Amy? Winston Churchill."

"Doctor." Winston said. "Is it you?"

"Oh, Winston, my old friend." The Doctor offered a handshake, and his grin widened when Churchill instead held out his hand and beckoned. "Ah, every time."

"What's he after?" Amy asked.

"Tardis key, of course."

"Think of what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor." Winston whined. "The lives that could be saved."

"Ah, doesn't work like that." The Doctor closed the Tardis door.

"Must I take it by force?"

Ember was surprised when a bubble of... anger? rose up in her at what she already knew what a false threat. The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them, nor could she resist putting what seemed like a challenge into them, almost daring the man to take a gamble. "Over my dead body."

The Doctor glanced at her and threw an arm around her to pull her to him. She didn't seem to notice, but there a very brief flash of worry on his face before he schooled it into a cocky smirk at Winston. "I'd like to see you try."

It wasn't clear if Winston had seen the Doctor's expression or was taking Ember's words seriously, but he waved a hand to his soldiers. "At ease."

The Doctor felt Ember relax once the guns were away, and he did the same. "You rang?"

Winston led them out into the corridor, already knowing that their guests would follow. "So you've changed your face again."

"Yeah, well, had a bit of work done."

"Got it, got it, got it!" Amy suddenly chirped, having been silent until now while she tried to think of where they were. "Cabinet War Rooms, right?"

The Doctor nodded, keeping his arm around Ember. "Yep. Top secret heart of the War Office, right under London."

"You're late, by the way." Winston said, turning to a young woman who showed him some paperwork about requisitions. He'd also handed the Doctor his walking stick. "Excellent."

"Late?"

"I rang you a month ago."

"Really? Sorry, sorry. It's a Type Forty Tardis, it's... I'm just running her in."

"You lie like a rug," Ember muttered just loud enough for the Time Lord to hear her, knowing he did when he squeezed her in response.

Winston looked at the female officer, noticing her somber mood. "Something the matter, Breen? You look a little down in the dumps."

The woman shook her head. "No, sir. Fine, sir."

"Action this day, Breen. Action this day."

"Yes, sir."

A male soldier approached them. "Excuse me, sir. Got another formation coming in, Prime Minister. Stukas, by the look of them."

Winston nodded. "We shall go up top then, Group Captain. We'll give them what for. Coming, Doctor?"

"Why?" He asked, puzzled. Winston took back his stick.

"I have something to show you." He led them to a lift, where the four of them quickly got inside. As it moved upwards, the Doctor had to wave away the smoke from Winston's cigar. "We stand at a crossroads, Doctor, quite alone, with our backs to the wall. Invasion is expected daily. So I will grasp with both hands anything that will give us an advantage over the Nazi menace."

The Doctor felt Ember tense in his embrace, which was enough of a warning for him. "Such as?"

The lift doors opened. "Follow me."

The brunette stopped, making the Doctor and Amy do so as well. "Brace yourself. Here's a warning; you won't like what they've got."

The fact that she'd said 'warning' instead of 'hint' was a clear indicator that it was something bad. The Doctor knew this from experience. He moved his arm away, but instead took her hand and squeezed it twice. He then led the girls to catch up with Winston. They were on the roof now, with sandbags and sentries scattered about, and they saw a man in a white scientist's coat watching the skies with binoculars.

"Wow." Amy said, looking up at the daylit sky and view of London.

"Doctor, this is Professor Edwin Bracewell." Winston gestured to the white coated man as they approached him. "Head of our Ironsides Project."

The man looked at them as the Doctor made a V with two fingers in greeting. He had small glasses on. "How do you do?"

A nearby radio crackled, and a man's voice reported. _"Two flights JU thirty eights approaching from the east."_

Amy looked around at the barrage balloons moored over the city as a bomb could be heard nearby. In the distance, several enemy planes could be seen approaching. "Oh, Doctor. Doctor, it's-"

"History." The Doctor grinned.

"Ready, Bracewell?" Winston asked.

The man nodded. "Aye aye, sir. On my order... fire!"

Amy, Ember and the Doctor jumped slightly as what looked like energy bolts shot out from one of the sandbagged areas. Each one hit the approaching Nazi planes dead on, destroying them with ease.

"What was that?" Amy asked, impressed with the show.

The Doctor wasn't, and he could tell by the way Ember squeezed his hand that she wasn't, either. "That wasn't human. That was never human technology. That sounded like... Show me. Show me. Show me what that was!"

"Advance!" Bracewell called as the Doctor scrambled up the ladder to him after letting go of Ember.

"Our new secret weapon. Ha!" Winston declared as none other than a Dalek rolled into view. It was painted khaki green and had a Union Flag emblem just under the eyepiece, but other than that, it was still definitely a Dalek. "What do you think? Quite something, eh?"

The Doctor didn't answer him, instead storming up to the Dalek and raising his voice. "What are you doing here?"

_"I am your soldier."_

"...What?"

_"I am your soldier."_ The Dalek repeated.

"Stop this. Stop now. Oh, you know who I am. You always know."

_"Your identity is unknown."_

"Perhaps I can clarify things here." Bracewell spike up, stepping forward. "This is one of my Ironsides."

The Doctor looked at him. "Your what?"

The scientist turned to face the Dalek without fear. "You will help the Allied cause in any way that you can."

_"Yes."_

"Until the Germans have been utterly smashed."

_"Yes."_

"And what is your ultimate aim?"

_"To win the war!"_ The Dalek declared.

Ember moved forward slightly and took the Doctor's hand, finding it clammy and slightly shaking. "Easy, Doctor. Anger is the shortest distance to a mistake. Here's a hint; be careful what you say, and some things go the other way around."

The Doctor didn't reply verbally, but he squeezed her hand twice.

* * *

The trio of travelers followed Winston back down to his office. The Doctor was barely able to stay quiet until they reached the room before he spoke, and he'd yet to let go of Ember's hand.

"They're Daleks." He said at last. "They're called Daleks."

"They are Bracewell's Ironsides, Doctor." Winston gestured to the desk, where several papers were littered on it. "Look. Blueprints, statistics, field tests, photographs. He invented them."

"Invented them? Oh, no, no, no!"

"Yes. He approached one of our brass hats a few months ago. Fellow's a genius."

"A Scottish genius, too." Amy piped in. "Maybe you should listen to-"

"Ssh." The Doctor cut her off without looking at her. Ember gave the redhead an apologetic smile. "He didn't invent them. They're alien."

"Alien?"

The Doctor watched a Dalek pass the door to the office, only speaking when he was sure it was gone. "And totally hostile."

"Precisely. They will win me the war." Winston said, shifting a paper to reveal a propaganda poster showing a Dalek with the slogan 'To Victory!'. He then turned to leave the room. The trio followed.

"Why won't you listen to me?" The Doctor asked as they walked. "Why did you call me in if you won't listen to me?"

"When I rang you a month ago, I must admit I had my doubts. The Ironsides seemed too good to be true."

"Yes! Right. So destroy them! Exterminate them!"

"But imagine what I could do with a hundred. A thousand."

The Doctor repressed a shudder as a second Dalek rolled past carrying a despatch box. "I am imagining. Amy, tell him."

"Tell him what?"

"About the Daleks."

Amy blinked, puzzled. "What would I know about the Daleks?"

"Everything. They invaded your world, remember?" The Doctor paused as he noticed the redhead's blank look. She didn't know what he was talking about? "Planets in the sky? You don't forget that. Amy, tell me you remember the Daleks."

"No, sorry."

"That's not possible." He turned to Ember. "You remember it, right?"

Ember nodded. "I haven't been there yet, but I do know what happened."

She caught the brief flash of emotion that crossed his face, but couldn't quite tell what it was supposed to be. She didn't get a chance to ask, either, because the Doctor had taken her hand again and was leading them to one of the map rooms. There were several soldiers on radios or performing other duties, as well as another khaki Dalek.

"So, they're up to something." The Doctor said, keeping his voice low so that only Ember and Amy heard him. "But what is it? What are they after?"

"Well, let's just ask, shall we?" The redhead turned to approach the Dalek.

The Doctor tried to stop her, but she shrugged him off. "Amy. Amelia!"

Amy lightly tapped on the Dalek's casing, and it swivelled to look at her. _"Can I be of assistance?"_

"Oh. Yes, yes." Amy gestured to where the Doctor and Ember were watching warily. "See, my friends reckon you're dangerous. That you're an alien. Is it true?"

_"I am your soldier."_

"Yeah. Got that bit. Love a squaddie. What else, though?"

_"Please excuse me. I have duties to perform._" The Dalek turned and left the room, and Amy moved back to her friends.

"That wasn't helpful." She said.

Ember shook her head. "Actually, it was. It didn't answer your question directly."

The Doctor took note of that bit of information as he walked up to Winston again, taking the cigar out of the man's mouth. "Winston. Winston, please..."

"We are waging total war, Doctor." The man said, still trying to get his point across. "Day after day the Luftwaffe pound this great city like an iron fist."

"Wait till the Daleks get started."

"Men, women and children slaughtered. Families torn apart. Wren's churches in flame!"

"Yeah? Try the Earth in flames."

"I weep for my country. I weep for my empire. It is breaking my heart."

"You're resisting, Winston!" The Doctor said, following the man around the room. "The whole world knows you're resisting. You're a beacon of hope."

"But for how long? Millions of innocent lives will be saved if I use these Ironsides now."

The Dalek had by now returned, and it approached the Doctor. _"Can I be of assistance?"_

"Shut it." The Doctor all but growled at it until it backed off, and he turned back to PM. "Listen to me. Just listen. The Daleks have no conscience, no... mercy, no, pity. They are my oldest and deadliest enemy. You cannot trust them."

"If Hitler invaded hell, I would give a favourable reference to the Devil. These machines are our salvation." A loud siren could be heard from somewhere. "Oh, the All Clear. We are safe, for now."

Amy looked at the Time Lords as Winston and the Dalek left the room. "Doctor, it's the All Clear. You okay?"

The Doctor grabbed a random cap and wrung it in his hands as he faced the redhead. "What does hate look like, Amy?"

"Hate?"

"It looks like a Dalek." The Doctor tossed the cap aside so he could take Ember's hand again. "And I'm going to prove it."

* * *

The Doctor was quick to locate the laboratory where Bracewell worked, and was quicker to get them there, though he did hesitate as he saw the scientist with one of the Daleks. To anyone that didn't know a Dalek, it would have probably looked comical to hear it ask _"Would you care for some tea?"_

Bracewell smiled. "That would be very nice, thank you."

"All right, Prof." The Doctor announced his presence as he stepped into the room, followed by Amy and Ember. "Now, the PM's been filling me in. Amazing things, these Ironsides of yours. Amazing. You must be very proud of them."

"Just doing my bit." The scientist shrugged modestly.

Amy picked up a rather large spanner. "Not bad for a Paisley boy."

"Yes, I thought I detected a familiar cadence, my dear."

"How did you do it?" The Doctor asked suddenly from where he'd grabbed a file to flick through, and Ember didn't have it in her to slap his arm for being rude. "Come up with the idea?"

"How does the muse of invention come to anyone?"

The Doctor tossed the file back onto the desk where he'd found it: Nothing useful in it. "But you get a lot of these clever notions, do you?"

"Well, ideas just seem to teem from my head. Wonderful things, like... Let me show you." Bracewell grabbed a few more files to show them as he spoke. "Some musings on the potential of hypersonic flight. Gravity bubbles that can sustain life outside of the terrestrial atmosphere. Came to me in the bath."

"And are these your ideas or theirs?"

"Oh no, no, no. These robots are entirely under my control, Doctor. They are..." he paused as the Dalek returned, a cup of tea on a tray that was on its sucker arm. "Thank you. The perfect servant, and the perfect warrior."

The Doctor frowned. "I don't know what you're up to, Professor, but whatever they've promised, you cannot trust them. Call them what you like, the Daleks are death."

"Yes, Doctor." Winston said as he entered the room, followed by a second Dalek. "Death to our enemies. Death to the forces of darkness, and death to the Third Reich."

"Yes, Winston, and death to everyone else too."

_"Would you care for some tea?"_ The Dalek asked the Doctor. Ember was sure she saw his eye twitch in irritation before he abruptly turned and knocked the tray away, sending it crashing to the floor.

"Stop this!" He snapped. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

_"We seek only to help you."_

"To do what?"

_"To win the war."_

"Really? Which war?"

The Dalek's eyestalk twitched. _"I do not understand."_

"This war, against the Nazis, or your war? The war against the rest of the Universe? The war against all life forms that are not Dalek?"

_"I do not understand. I am your soldier."_

"Oh, yeah? Okay." The Doctor was swift to pick up the spanner that Amy had not long put down, brandishing it like a weapon. "Okay, soldier, defend yourself."

Winston's eyes widened when the Doctor then proceeded to strike the Dalek right on the head with the spanner. "Doctor, what the devil?!"

_"You do not require tea?"_ The Dalek asked, not defending itself.

"Stop him!" Bracewell cried. "Prime Minister, please!"

"Doctor, what the devil? Please, these machines are precious."

"Come on! Fight back!" The Doctor shouted, grabbing the eyestalk to make it look at him. "You want to, don't you? You know you do!"

"I must protest!"

"What are you waiting for? Look, you hate me. You want to kill me. Well, go on. Kill me. Kill me!"

Amy looked worried now. "Doctor, be careful. Ember, what's happening?"

The brunette shook her head. "Anger. That's what's happening."

_"Please desist from striking me."_ The Dalek said. _"I am your soldier."_

"You! Are! My! Enemy!" The Doctor shouted, hitting the Dalek with each word before he finally dropped the spanner. "And I am yours!"

Ember chose this moment to step forward, grabbing the Doctor by the arm. "Doctor..."

The Doctor saw the Dalek turn it's eyestalk to look at the brunette and the rage swelled. "Don't look at her! Don't you dare even _think_ you're worthy of looking at her! Because of you, she almost..."

That made Ember pause as he trailed off, looking almost haunted by something only he could see. Something had happened, something that seemed to have affected him in a big way. What was he about to say? She almost what?

"You are everything I despise." The Doctor said, seemingly calmer. "The worst thing in all creation. I've defeated you time and time again. _We've_ defeated you. We sent you back into the Void. We saved the whole of reality from you. I am the Doctor. And you are the Daleks!"

Ember was too late to stop him as he kicked the Dalek, sending it skidding back. "No!"

The Dalek turned its eyestalk to face them. _"Correct. Review testimony."_

"Testimony?" The Doctor repeated, puzzled when his own voice was played back to them. _"I am the Doctor. And you are the Daleks!"_ "What are you talking about, testimony?"

The second Dalek spoke. _"Transmitting testimony now."_

"Transmit what, where?"

_"Testimony accepted."_

The Doctor pulled Ember with him as he stepped away. "Get back, all of you!"

"Marines!" Winston said, sensing the sudden danger. "Marines, get in here!"

Two soldiers ran into the room, but they were killed before they could even assess the threat.

"Stop it, stop it, please!" Bracewell cried, moving to the first Dalek. "What are you doing? You are my Ironsides!"

_"We are the Daleks."_

"But I created you!"

_"No."_ The Dalek shot at Bracewell's left hand. It exploded into sparks and left a stump with circuits inside._ "We created you. __Victory! Victory! Victory!"_

With that, the Daleks teleported away.

Amy looked at the Doctor. "What just happened, Doctor?"

"I wanted to know what they wanted. What their plan was._ I _was their plan." The Doctor looked at Ember as she took his hand again. "'Be careful what you say'. I'm sorry, I didn't listen..."

"Then listen now," Ember said. "We can catch up to them if we go now! Amy, here's a hint; don't look a gift horse in the mouth!"

The Doctor nodded, running off with Ember right behind him and Amy not far off. They quickly got back to the Tardis. "Testimony accepted. That's what they said. _My_ testimony."

"Don't beat yourself up because you were right. So, what do we do?" Amy asked. "Is this what we do now? Chase after them?"

"This is what Ember and I do. yeah, and it's dangerous, so you wait here."

"What, so you mean I've got to stay safe down here in the middle of the London Blitz?" Amy pointed out as Winston caught up with them.

"Safe as it gets around me." The Doctor shrugged. He was about to turn to Ember when he noticed that she was already inside the Tardis, giving him a look that said 'I dare you to try to stop me.' He rolled his eyes, but joined her at the console to set them off. Ember tried to help where she could, but that was minimal, so it was more the Doctor giving her another lesson as they went.

"Come on... Bingo!" he said, looking at the scanner. After a few more moments, the Tardis stilled, and he ran to the doors. He paused before he opened them, glancing at Ember as she reached his side. "Don't suppose I can convince you to stay in here?"

"No chance." The brunette replied. "Do you have a Jammy Dodger?"

"Why, are you hungry?"

"No. But to the untrained eye, it could be mistaken for a button. A very dangerous button."

It took a moment before the Doctor caught on, and then he grinned before he opened the door and stepped out, making sure Ember was staying behind him as he faced three Daleks - the first two painted khaki while the third was gold - that were in a big, white room that had a huge device that could have been a teleport or some other kind of machine, only it had a small Dalek-shaped device suspended by two metal bars in the central cubicle. "How about that cuppa now, then?"

_"It is the Doctor!"_ The gold one stated. _"And the Predator!"_

Ember wasn't sure how she should react to being called a predator, but she didn't say anything for now.

_"Exterminate!"_ One of the khaki ones said.

"Wait, wait, wait. I wouldn't if I were you." The Doctor quickly got a Jammy Dodger from his jacket, holding it out. "Tardis self-destruct, and you know what that means. My ship goes, you all go with it."

_"You would not use such a device."_ The second khaki Dalek said.

"Try me." He saw one of them move forward. "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. No scans. No nothing. One move and I'll destroy us all, you got that? Tardis bang bang, Daleks BOOM!"

After a moment, the Dalek moved back.

The Doctor did a quick glance around. "Good boy. This ship's pretty beaten up. Running on empty, I'd say, like you. When we last met, you were at the end of your rope. Finished."

_"One ship survived."_

"And you fell back through time, yes. Crippled, dying."

_"We picked up a trace. One of the Progenitor devices."_

"Progenitor?" The Doctor repeated. "What's that when it's at home?"

_"It is our past, and our future."_

"Oh? That's deep. That is deep for a Dalek. What does it mean, though?"

_"It contains pure Dalek DNA."_ The gold Dalek said. _"Thousands were created. All were lost, save one."_

The Doctor glanced back at Ember, who nodded. "Okay, but there's still one thing I don't get, though. If you've got the Progenitor, why build Bracewell?"

The first khaki Dalek hesitated. _"It was... necessary."_

"But why?"

Ember tapped his shoulder. "Something that important won't just open if someone goes up to it and says 'hi, I'm a Dalek.' They'd need to prove it."

Now the Doctor caught on. "I get it. Oh, I get it. I get it. Oh ho! This is rich. The Progenitor wouldn't recognise you, would it? It saw you as impure. Your DNA is unrecognisable as Dalek."

_"A solution was devised."_

"Yes, yes, yes. Me. My testimony. So you set a trap. You knew that the Progenitor would recognise me, the Daleks' greatest enemy. It would accept my word. My recognition of you." His grin fell as the second Dalek moved to a console on the side of machine. "No. No, no. What are you doing?"

_"Withdraw now, Doctor, or the city dies in flames." _The gold Dalek threatened.

"Who are you kidding? This ship is a wreck. You don't have the power to destroy London."

_"Watch as the humans destroy themselves."_

Ember tapped his arm again. "They can't destroy London, but they can turn all the lights on in the city. They'll be a sitting duck for the Nazis."

"Turn those lights off now." The Doctor demanded. "Turn London off or I swear I will use the Tardis self destruct."

The first khaki Dalek spoke. _"Stalemate, Doctor. Leave us and return to Earth."_

"Oh, that's it. That's your great victory? You leave?"

_"Extinction is not an option. We shall return to our own time and begin again."_

"No, no, no. I won't let you get away this time. I won't!"

There was a loud sound, coming from the big device, which began to glow as the cubicle closed and the whole thing began to glow red. _"We have succeeded. DNA reconstruction is complete. Observe, Doctor, a new Dalek paradigm."_

The front of the Progenator opened, and five Daleks glided out of the sparks and smoke that also escaped it. Each one was nearly twice as big as the originals, and they were each a different colour: red, blue, yellow, white and orange. Ember briefly recalled seeing the five as a collection of toys and had to smother the laughter that threatened to come out.

_"The Progenitor has fulfilled our new destiny."_ The first khaki Dalek said. _"Behold, the restoration of the Daleks. The resurrection of the master race!"_

_"All hail the new Daleks."_ The second khaki said. _"All hail the new Daleks."_

_"Yes, you are inferior."_ The white Dalek said. It's voice was bolder and more menacing than the originals.

_"Yes."_

_"Then prepare."_

_"We are ready."_

_"Cleanse the unclean. Total obliteration. Disintegrate!" _The new Daleks destroyed the old ones, not even leaving debris behind.

"Blimey." The Doctor breathed. "What do you do to the ones who mess up?"

The white Dalek moved forward. _"You are the Doctor and the Predator! You must be exterminated!"_

The Doctor quickly held up his Jammy Dodger again. "Don't mess with us, sweetheart."

_"We are the paradigm of a new Dalek race. Scientist, Strategist, Drone, Eternal, and the Supreme."_

"Which would be you, I'm guessing. Well, you know, nice paint job. I'd be feeling pretty swish if I looked like you. Pretty su-preme. Question is, what do we do now? Either you turn off your clever machine or I'll blow you and your new paradigm into eternity."

_"And yourself, and the Predator."_

"Occupational hazard. And Ember can just jump if she has to."

Ember resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She couldn't control when and where she jumped.

_"Scan reveals nothing."_ The blue Dalek declared, having gone to the control panel while the Time Lords were distracted. _"Tardis self destruct device non-existent."_

The Doctor handed Ember the biscuit, to her mild surprise. With a shrug, she took a bite. "All right, it's a Jammy Dodger, but we were promised tea!"

Suddenly, an alarm sounded, and the blue Dalek looked at the console again. _"Alert! Unidentified projectile approaching! Correction; multiple projectiles!"_

_"What have the humans done?"_ The white Dalek demanded.

"I don't know." The Doctor replied, having moved to look at a scanner himself.

_"Explain! Explain! Explain!"_

Ember raised a hand. "I can explain. What did you expect the humans to do? Just sit there and let you kill them? Or would they find a way to get up here to stop you? You're not that far away from them."

_"Danny Boy to the Doctor."_ A voice crackled over a speaker somewhere. _"Danny Boy to the Doctor. Are you receiving me? Over."_

The Doctor grinned. "Oh ho! Winston, you beauty!"

_"Danny Boy to the Doctor. Come in. Over."_

"Loud and clear, Danny Boy. Big dish, side of the ship. Blow it up. Over."

_"Exterminate the Doctor!"_ The white Dalek commanded.

At that, the Doctor turned and ran, pulling Ember with him. They barely managed to avoid getting hit before they got inside the Tardis, where the Doctor was quick to get the transmission up.

_"Danny Boy to the Doctor. Only me left now. Anything you can do, sir? Over."_

Ember moved to the Doctor's side as he spoke into a radio. "The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. I can disrupt the Dalek shields, but not for long. Over."

_"Good show, Doctor. Go to it. Over."_ There was a pause as the Doctor flipped some switches and directed Ember to hit a few buttons._ "I'm going in. Wish me luck. Over."_

The Doctor grinned and hugged Ember as the scanner showed that the dish was destroyed. The brunette blushed when the Time Lord even snuck in a kiss on her cheek.

_"Danny Boy to the Doctor. Going in for another attack."_

"The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. Destroy this ship. Over."

_"What about you, Doctor?"_

"We'll be okay."

The holoscreen appeared to the side, showing the white Dalek. _"__Doctor, call off your attack."_

The Doctor shook his head. "Ah ha. What, and let you scuttle off back to the future? No fear. This is the end for you. The final end."

_"Call off the attack, or we will destroy the Earth."_

"I'm not stupid, mate. You've just played your last card."

Ember grabbed his arm. "That wasn't their last card."

_"Bracewell is a bomb."_ The Dalek added.

"You're bluffing." The Doctor said, squeezing Ember's hand. He was hoping that what he said was true. "Deception's second nature to you. There isn't a sincere bone in your body. There isn't a bone in your body."

_"His power is derived from an Oblivion Continuum. Call off your attack, or we will detonate the android."_

The Doctor shook his head, going back to the console. The homoscreen vanished, but the transmission was still on the monitor attached to the console. "No. This is my best chance ever. The last of the Daleks. I can rid the Universe of you, once and for all."

_"Then do it. But we will shatter the planet below. The Earth will die screaming!"_

"Yeah, and if I let you go, you'll be stronger than ever. A new race of Daleks."

_"Then choose, Doctor. Destroy the Daleks or save the Earth. Begin countdown of Oblivion Continuum. Choose, Doctor. Choose! Choose!"_

Ember flinched as her head throbbed, her vision going white with an oncoming vision...

_Bracewell was on the floor, his shirt open to reveal a metal chest with a circular pad divided into five sections that glowed blue, but then one by one, they each turned yellow, then red. The Doctor was trying to stop it by getting Bracewell to think about being human, but it wasn't working._

_Amy didn't step in, looking panicked._

_The final panel went red, and the world exploded..._

Ember shook her head as the vision ended, just in time to catch the Doctor speaking. "Withdraw. Return to Earth. Over and out."

"_But sir-" _the pilot began, but was cut off.

"There's no time. You have to return to Earth now. Over."

Ember helped the Doctor pilot the Tardis where she could, getting them back into the filing room. She then followed the Doctor out of the Tardis, down the hall and into the map room where Amy, Winston and Bracewell were. She was not able to stop him from swinging a fist and knocking the scientist to the floor with a firm uppercut to the jaw.

"Doctor!" Amy cried.

"Ow!" The Doctor shook his hand. "Sorry, Professor, you're a bomb. An inconceivably massive Dalek bomb."

The man blinked. "What?"

"There's an Oblivion Continuum inside you. A captured wormhole that provides perpetual power. Detonate that, and the Earth will bleed through into another dimension. Now keep down." The Doctor knelt beside him and used his Sonic, making Bracewell's torso open up to reveal a metal chest and a circular pad divided into five sections on it that glowed blue. A moment later, one of the sections changed to yellow.

"Well?" Amy asked after a moment.

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know." The Doctor muttered. "Never seen one up close before."

"So what, they've wired him up to detonate?"

"Oh no, not wired him up. He is a bomb. Walking, talking, pow, exploding, the moment that flashes red."

Amy shook her head as the Doctor stood and paced anxiously. "There's a blue wire or something you have to cut, isn't there? There's always a blue wire. Or a red one."

"You're not helping."

"It's incredible." Winston said in awe. "He talked to us about his memories. The Great War."

"Someone else's stolen thoughts, implanted in a positronic brain." The Doctor knelt beside Bracewell again. The first section was already red. "Tell me about it. Bracewell. Tell me about your life."

"Doctor, I really don't think this is the time..."

"Tell me, and prove you're human. Tell me everything!"

"My family ran the Post Office." Bracewell said after a moment. "It's a little place just near the abbey, just by the ash trees. There used to be eight trees but there was a storm."

The Doctor nodded. "And your parents? Come on, tell me."

"Good people. Kind people. They died. Scarlet fever."

"What was that like? How did it feel? How did it make you feel, Edwin? Tell me. Tell me now."

"It hurt. It hurt, Doctor, it hurt so badly. It was like a wound. I though it was worse than a wound. Like I'd been emptied out. There was nothing left."

There were two red sections now, with two blue and a yellow. "Good. Remember it now, Edwin. The ash trees by the Post Office and your mum and dad, and losing them, and men in the trenches you saw die. Remember it. Feel it. You feel it because you're human. You're not like them. You're not like the Daleks!"

Bracewell was in tears. "It hurts, Doctor. It hurts so much..."

"Good. Good, good, brilliant! Embrace it. That means you're alive! They cannot explode that bomb because you're a human being! You are flesh and blood! They cannot explode that bomb, believe it! You are Professor Edwin Bracewell, and you, my friend, are a human being!"

Now there were four red and one yellow. Amy trembled in fear while the Doctor began to panic.

"It's not working. I can't stop it."

Ember, seeing that Amy was going the same way as her vision entailed, leaned forward so that Bracewell could see her. "Hey, got a question. You ever had feelings for someone you know you shouldn't?"

"...What?" Bracewell asked in a whisper. The final section of the circle stayed yellow.

"It hurts, doesn't it? Logic tells you you shouldn't be feeling that way, but you can't help it. You can't help feeling the way you do, for someone who you think is out of your reach. But it's worth it to see them smile, even if it isn't because of you." Ember felt a tear escape her left eye and rubbed it away, inadvertently smearing a bit of the makeup off her cheek. "Even when you think you're not good enough for them..."

The Doctor and Amy were looking at her, the latter a bit confused while the former looked conflicted. She wasn't looking at them, so she missed it.

"I really shouldn't talk about her..." Bracewell murmured.

"Maybe you should," Ember countered as the yellow section turned blue again. "Tell us about her."

The Doctor caught on quickly. "What was her name?"

"Dorabella." Bracewell said.

"Dorabella? It's a lovely name. It's a beautiful name."

"What was she like, Edwin?" Amy asked.

"Oh, such a smile. And her eyes." Bracewell seemed lost in the memory, smiling wistfully. A second section turned blue. "Her eyes were so blue. Almost violet, like the last touch of sunset on the edge of the world. Dorabella..."

The other three segments turned blue, then all of them turned white. The Doctor smiled. "Welcome to the human race." He snapped his fingers and pointed at Winston. "You're brilliant." Next at Bracewell. "You're brilliant." Then Amy. "You're brilliant."

Then he faced Ember. "And you, I..."

Ember smiled, but then froze in shock when he reached over, took her face in his hands and planted a firm kiss on her lips.

He didn't seem to notice her shock, as he stood up and made to leave the room. "Now. Got to stop them. Stop the Daleks."

"Wait, Doctor. Wait, wait." Bracewell called as he sat up. "It's too late... Gone. They've gone."

"No. No!" The Doctor shouted. "They can't! They can't have got away from me again!"

Bracewell shook his head and adjusted his glasses with his remaining hand. "No, I can feel it. My mind is clear. The Daleks have gone."

The Doctor leaned heavily against the wall. Ember, having got over her shock, got up and warily approached him, slightly surprised when he pulled her to him and held her tightly.

"Doctor, it's okay." Amy said. "You did it. You stopped the bomb. Doctor?"

"I had a choice." He breathed. "And they knew I'd choose the Earth. The Daleks have won. They beat me. They've won."

"But you saved the Earth. Not too shabby, is it? Is it."

The Doctor paused, looking at everyone in the room. Ember took his hand and squeezed it twice, offering him a smile that he returned. "No, it's not too shabby."

"It's a brilliant achievement, my dear friend." Winston chuckled, taking a cigar out from his jacket. "Here, have a cigar."

"No."

Ember wrinkled her nose at the cigar. Unlike alcohol, which she didn't seem to have an aversion to, cigars were something she definitely did not want to try.

* * *

It was the next morning, and Amy was with Winston in the map room while they waited for the Doctor and Ember.

The Doctor was just walking with the brunette down the corridor when a thought struck him, making him stop her. "Have you met the Daleks before this?"

Ember hesitated. She remembered the adventure at the Dalek Asylum, where he'd been surprised that she hadn't seen the Daleks before that. Then he mentioned makeup. "It might be better if I didn't tell you."

"I don't remember this outfit," The Doctor mused, looking at her clothes, and then he reached out to touch her face. "And you don't often wear makeup..."

"It's a future adventure, sorry. And I thought makeup would do well to... make me look a little better." Ember stepped back before he could touch the makeup. "We'd better get back. Amy's waiting."

She turned and continued walking. The Doctor stayed still, looking at his hand. He rubbed his fingers together, revealing that he _had_ touched the makeup and gotten a little bit on his fingers. What he'd tried to do was feel if her scar was present, but he couldn't quite tell with the brief touch.

He had no choice but to let it go, turning and catching up with the brunette just before they reached the map room. They entered just as Winston asked after them. "Where are they?"

"Tying up loose ends." The Doctor said, getting their attention. "I've taken out all the alien tech Bracewell put in."

"Won't you reconsider, Doctor?" Winston asked. "Those Spitfires would win me the war in twenty hours."

"Exactly."

"But why not? Why can't we put an end to all this misery?"

The Doctor took a cup of tea and drank it, not caring if it belonged to someone else. "Oh, it doesn't work like that, Winston, and it's going to be tough. There are terrible days to come. The darkest days. But you can do it. You know you can."

"Stay with us, and help us win through. The world needs you."

"The world doesn't need me."

"No?"

"The world's got Winston Spencer Churchill."

Winston chuckled as the Doctor flashed him the V for history sign. "It's been a pleasure, Doctor, as always."

"Too right."

"Goodbye, Doctor."

"Oh, shall we say adieu?"

The Doctor and Churchill embrace, and then the latter turned to face Amy and Ember. "Indeed. Goodbye, Miss Pond, miss Ember."

"It's... it's been amazing, meeting you." Amy said.

"I'm sure it has."

Amy kissed him on the cheek. He chuckled and turned to walk away.

Ember waited, but the redhead didn't say more, so she did it instead. "Um, mister Churchill? I believe you've got a key. You just took it from the Doctor. I think we'd like it back."

The Doctor almost choked on the tea, quickly patting his pockets. Amy snickered.

"Oh, she's good, Doctor." Winston chuckled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a silver key. "As sharp as a pin. Almost as sharp as me." He handed it back to Ember, who swiftly gave it to the Doctor. "K B O."

The Doctor grinned as the Prime Minister walked away, and then he led the girls to the laboratory. Bracewell was there, his back to them. He had a replacement for his left hand, though it was made to look like a black leather glove.

"I've been expecting you, Doctor." He said as soon as they entered. "I knew this moment had to come."

"Moment?" The Doctor repeated, puzzled.

"It's time to de-activate me."

"Is it? Oh... yeah."

"You have no choice. I'm Dalek technology." Bracewell turned to face them. "Can't allow me to go pottering around down here where I have no business."

The Doctor nodded. "No, you're dead right, Professor. A hundred percent right. And by the time I get back here in what, ten minutes?"

"More like fifteen." Amy said.

"Fifteen minutes, yeah, that's exactly what I'm going to do. You are going to be so de-activated. It's going be like you've never even been... activated."

"Yeah."

Bracewell blinked, puzzled. "Fifteen minutes?"

"More like twenty, if I'm honest." The Doctor added. "Once Pond, Ember and I see to the urgent thing we've got to see to. The, the... See?"

"Very well, Doctor. I shall wait here and prepare myself."

"That Dalek tech a bit slow on the uptake." Amy muttered before speaking clearly again. "That thing we've got to do, going to take half an hour, realistically, isn't it, Doctor?"

"Easily. So no running off, that's what I'm saying. Don't go trying to find that little Post Office with the ash trees or that girl. What was her name?"

"Dorabella."

"Dorabella. On no account go looking for her. Mind you, you can get a lot done in half an hour."

Braceqell looked at Ember, who smiled knowingly, and he finally realised what they were trying to hint. He smiled, relieved. "Thank you. Thank you, Doctor!"

The Doctor nodded, turning to leave while taking Ember by the hand. "Come along, Pond."

Amy followed them u til they reached the Tardis before she spoke. "So, you have enemies then?"

"Everyone's got enemies."

"Yeah, but mine's the woman outside Budgens with the mental Jack Russell. You've got, like, you know, arch-enemies."

The Doctor paused, leaning back against the Tardis with the girls on either side of him. "Suppose so."

"And here's me thinking we'd just be running through time, being daft and fixing stuff. But no, it's dangerous."

"Yep. Very. Is that a problem?"

"I'm still here, aren't I?" Amy looked at him. "You're worried about the Daleks."

"I'm always worried about the Daleks."

Ember tilted her head. "They almost destroyed the universe more times than we care to remember, and I haven't been there for most of it yet."

"It'll take time though, won't it?" Amy asked. "I mean, there's still not many of them. They'll need a while to build themselves up."

"It's not that. There's something else. Something we've forgotten." The Doctor said, looking at her. "Or rather you have."

"Me?"

"You didn't know them, Amy. You'd never seen them before. And you should have done. You should."

The Doctor opened the Tardis and led them in. As the blue box slowly vanished, it revealed the wall behind it... and a glowing, jagged crack in it.

* * *

And there we have it. And it looks like Ember might be starting to admit her feelings, but will she fully accept them? Find out soon!

Next Time: Ember has to face a robot, a familiar face and the possibility of losing the Doctor. How will she handle it?


	5. Chapter Five: Let’s Kill Hitler

Someone asked me about doing some original work regarding Ember's adventures. I actually have some in the works, one of them being how the Doctor meets her for the first time - now there's a spoiler for you!

Anyways, on with the chapter!

* * *

Chapter Five: Let's Kill Hitler

* * *

Ember spent another week with the Doctor and Amy before she jumped, and was now wearing her dark blue jeans, singed denim jacket with a black shirt underneath, and black boots.

She landed next in the Tardis mid-flight, and was only just able to see the Eleventh Doctor wearing a longer, green coat before she was enveloped in a tight hug by the Time Lord. She'd grown used to the hugs by now, but what surprised her was that he was shaking. "Doctor?"

"Just a moment," he muttered. She couldn't see his face, but his voice sounded a bit choked, like he was trying not to cry. "Just... I need a moment."

That made Ember blink in puzzlement. The last time he'd done this was when they were first investigating the Silence, when she'd skipped three months of the adventure. He'd hugged her like this as soon as he was free of the straight jacket he'd been restrained in. When she'd asked him why he reacted that way, he'd confessed that she rarely stayed away for so long between jumps, and he'd missed her.

"Um... how long has it been?" She found herself asking. "When did you last see me?"

The Doctor took a deep breath in and out before he answered. "Not long. A couple of weeks, a month at most. But... something happened, the last time I saw you."

Ember blinked again. "And that was...?"

"Demon's Run."

For some reason, those two words made a shiver go through her, similar to the one she'd get whenever she heard the words 'Bad Wolf'. "Oh. I haven't been there yet. Was it bad?"

"Could have been better." The Doctor finally pulled back enough to meet her gaze, putting his hands on either side of her face and just... looking at her, almost like he was looking for something, or trying to reassure himself that it was really her. "Something happened."

Ember tried to ignore how her face felt hot at the touch and how close he was to her, and that his thumb was lightly brushing over the scar on her face. She also wanted to silence that little voice in the back of her head that urged her to lean just a little closer because he was_ just within reach_. "Amy and Rory's baby? River?"

"Yes, that. But there was also a-"

The Tardis suddenly lurched, sending the brunette almost toppling if it wasn't for the Doctor being in the way. He quickly wrapped her in his arms again, sending a glare up at the ceiling.

"Guess that's Tardis code for 'spoilers'," Ember said as she stepped back once she'd regained her footing. She gently pat the Doctor's hand when he pouted at her. "Looks like I have to wait until I get there."

The Doctor looked like he wanted to continue what he was about to say regardless, but another lurch made him frown. "Alright! Alright!"

Ember smiled and turned to the console, missing how the Doctor sent another glare and a shaking fist at the ceiling before he joined her. "So where are we going?"

"Here!" The Doctor suddenly had a newspaper in one hand, the origins of which she could only guess, and held it out to her. It turned out to be the Leadworth Chronicle, which had a headline of 'Leadworth's Crop Circle'. Below that was a picture of a cornfield, taken from above, with the word 'Doctor' made in it. "Someone's calling me out. And I bet I know who. The Ponds."

Ember nodded, doing the little things she knew to help pilot the Tardis. "They've been trying to call you for a while now."

Nodding, the Doctor landed them and headed for the door, Ember close behind. They stepped out to find themselves in the crop circle that made up the second 'o' in the word 'Doctor', just as an old, beat up, beige car screeched to a stop in front of them. Amy and Rory, who were in it, got out as the Doctor held up the paper and raised a brow. "Seriously?"

"Well, you never answer your phone." Rory countered.

"Okay, you've had all summer." Amy said. "Have you found her? Have you found Melody?"

"Permission?" The Doctor asked Rory.

"Granted."

Nodding, the Doctor handed him the paper and pulled Amy into a hug. "You know who she grows up to be, so you know I will find her."

Amy frowned. "But you haven't yet."

Ember held up a hand. "Um, I can tell you she's fine, more or... um, what?"

As soon as she'd spoken, Amy and Rory took one look at her and then a noticeable step back away from her. They both had the same expression on their faces: either apprehension or... fear? Doubt?

"What? What is it?" Ember asked. This was a first; none of the companions so far had had that reaction to her. Sure, she was weird, with her powers over fire (and water, apparently, but she _still_ hadn't had a chance to test that yet), and the scar was an oddity when people saw it for the first time, but this was two companions who had seen it before now. So what was making them so skittish now? "What's wrong?"

The Doctor fiddled with his hands. "Um..."

"Have you been to Demon's Run yet?" Amy asked abruptly. "When they took my baby?"

Ember flinched, not sure if the terse tone was meant for her or not. "No, I haven't. But I know what happened, I think, unless something changed."

"Well, other than my baby being taken away from me, what else happened?"

"Um, River showed you that she was Melody?"

Amy looked at the Doctor, who looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't sure what. He gave her a helpless shrug before she turned to face Ember again. "Then you don't know everything that happened. Great."

Ember blinked, puzzled. Amy had seemed a bit angry at her, but now she looked tired, resigned even. But why? Evidently there was something she didn't know about, something that might have happened that didn't on the show. Was it her? Had she done something? "Um, I... don't know what to say..."

"It's fine." Amy said. Her tone had softened, but it was obvious that there was something she wanted to say but couldn't.

"Hang on." Rory finally spoke. He'd looked at the newspaper, or rather the photo of the crop circle. "What's this bit?"

The Doctor snached the newspaper from him, noticing a new line going across the middle of the crop circles. He turned in a circle to try to find where it would come from. The Ponds followed.

"That wasn't us." Amy said, her and Rory coming up to look over his shoulders at the paper.

Ember moved to stand beside the Tardis as the sound of an engine could be heard, and a red Chevrolet Corvette burst through the corn at the edge of the circle. The trio screamed in unison and leapt out of the way as the car swerved and skid to a stop an inch away from the Tardis, sending dry grass and corn everywhere.

The driver's side door opened and a woman stepped out. She was in her early twenties, with red painted nails, long black braids, wearing black boots, black tights, a pink and black dress and black leather vest. She was looking at the Doctor as he looked up at her from where he'd landed.

"You said he was funny. You never said he was hot." She said simply. She then looked up to set eyes on Ember, who was still beside the Tardis. "And she is too. They'd look hot together."

That made Ember splutter, her cheeks going red. She knew who this woman was, but she hadn't expected _that_.

"Mels!" Rory called from the other side of the red car.

"What are you doing here?" Amy asked.

Mels shrugged. "Following you. What do you think?"

Rory looked at the car. "Um, where did you get the car?"

"It's mine." Sirens were suddenly heard in the distance, defiantly getting closer. "Ish."

"Oh, Mels, not again." Amy rolled her eyes in frustration.

Rory wasn't far behind. "You can't keep doing this. You're going to end up in prison."

"Sorry. Hello." The Doctor said, finally getting up. He checked that Ember was okay, only satisfied when she gave him a thumbs up before he looked at the humans. "Doctor not following this. Doctor very lost. You never said I was hot?"

"Is that the phone box? The bigger on the inside phone box? Oh, time travel. That's just brilliant." Mels ran over to the Tardis and leaned against it as she looked at the Doctor. "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you. I'm their best mate."

The Doctor eyed her carefully. "Then why don't I know you? I danced with everyone at the wedding. The women were all brilliant. The men were a bit shy, at least with me. Weren't so shy around Ember, but I kept them away from her."

Ember tilted her head in silent askance, but the Doctor merely winked at her.

"I don't do weddings." Mels shrugged as the sirens got louder. "And that's me out of time."

The next moment, she was holding a gun, pointing it right at Ember. The brunette was as surprised by that one as the others.

"Mels!" Amy gasped. As far as she knew, the woman had never pointed a gun at anyone before.

"For God's sake!" Rory exclaimed.

"What are you doing?!"

"I need out of here, now." Mels said simply as the sound of a helicopter could also be heard.

The Doctor didn't look happy at all about the fact that Ember was staring down the barrel of a gun held by someone who seemed a little more off the deep end than he was comfortable with, but he knew better than to argue. "Anywhere in particular?"

"Well, let's see. You've got a time machine, I've got a gun. What the hell." Mels smirked. "Let's kill Hitler."

* * *

Too fast for Ember to really get what was going on, they were back in the Tardis and away from the cornfield. Mels seemed to feel that she no longer needed to point a gun at anyone, though it did puzzle the brunette that the young woman had stopped to hug her and say "I wasn't really gonna shoot you."

It didn't stop her from actually _firing_ the gun, making a clean hole in the glass of the central pillar. And this led to the whole place going crazy.

"You've shot it!" The Doctor cried, running round to look at the bullet hole. The lights on the console were flashing red and there was smoke coming out of the hole. "You shot my Tardis! You shot the console!"

"It's your fault!" Mels argued, holding on to the railing to keep from falling over. Amy and Rory were holding on railings a few feet away from her, hanging on for dear life. Ember was holding on to the console, pressing what few buttons and levers she knew would help.

"How's it my fault?!"

"You said guns didn't work in this place! You said we're in a state of temporal grace!"

"That was a clever lie, you idiot!" The Doctor grumbled as he tried to gain some control. "Anyone could tell that was a clever lie!"

Ember ran over to help, partly doing it herself and partly following the Doctor's instructions.

There was a huge crash and then a loud thud before everything stilled, but the smoke was building, making it hard to breathe.

The Doctor pulled out a red handkerchief and covered Ember's mouth and nose with it, a move that surprised the brunette, but he was already leading her to the doors before she could question him. "Out, out, out!" He held the door open to allow Amy, Rory and Mels to come out of the Tardis. "Everybody out! Don't breathe the smoke, just get out!"

Ember looked around. They were in a rather large office, and the Tardis had smashed through one of the windows and got itself firmly wedged in the far wall. Among the debris was a man lying still and straight, like a doll. He was a thin-haired man wearing a German soldiers uniform. In fact, clear signs of Nazi stood out with banners on the walls.

"Where are we?" Amy asked once she could breathe properly.

The Doctor glanced around for a second. "A room."

"What room?" Rory asked.

"I don't know what room. I haven't memorised every room in the universe yet. I had yesterday off." The Time Lord saw Mels about to go back into the Tardis and ran over to her. "Mels, don't go in there!"

"Oi!" Mels said as he managed to get the gun off of her at the same time.

"Bad smoke. Don't breathe the bad, bad, smoke!" The Doctor closed the door and turned to glare at the woman. "Bad, deadly smoke because somebody shot my Tardis!"

Mels rolled her eyes and walked away as Rory noticed the prone form and ran over to him, his nurse training coming in handy. "Doctor. This guy, I think he's hurt." He paused, checking the man's pulse. "No, hang on. No, he's fine."

Ember gave the 'unconscious' man a wary look. If only they knew.

The Doctor looked at the gun in his hands, uncomfortable with it, before he put it in a fruit bowl on the desk that had survived the collision. He paused when another man started to stand from behind the desk. "Oh, hello! Sorry, is this your office? Had a sort of collision with my... vehicle. Faults on both sides, let's say no more about..." the man straightened, making him trail off. "...It."

"Who..." Rory breathed as he and Amy moved to the Doctor's side.

Amy blinked, finding the hair and moustache familiar. "Is that...? No, it can't be, Doctor?"

"Thank you, whoever you are." Said none other than Adolf Hitler. "I think you have just saved my life."

The Doctor stared, wide-eyed. "Believe me, it was an accident."

Hitler turned to look at the Tardis. "What is this thing?"

Amy looked at the Doctor. "What did he mean, we saved his life? We could not have just saved Hitler."

"You see? You see?" The Doctor rolled his eyes as he turned to glare at Mels. "Time travel, it never goes to plan."

"This box." Hitler asked. "What is it?"

"It's a police telephone box from London, England." The Doctor said, almost smirking at the wide-eyed response. "That's right, Adolf. The British are coming."

Ember rolled her eyes this time.

Hitler suddenly looked scared, seeing the other man stand up. "No, stop him!"

The Doctor ducked as soon as he saw the leader pull a gun, dodging as it was fired twice before Rory was able to get in close and punch Hitler to the ground, grabbing the gun and pointing it at the leader.

"Sit still, shut up." He said as Hitler put up his hands.

Amy ran over to the other man, helping him stay upright. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes. Yes, I'm fine." He replied. "I think he missed."

Hitler pointed at the man. "He was going to kill me!"

"Shut up, Hitler!" Rory said. The gun was shaking slightly in his hands, but he stood firm.

"Rory, take Hitler and put him in that cupboard over there." The Doctor said. "Now, do it."

Ember ran over to help Rory as the nurse muttered to himself. "Right. Putting Hitler in the cupboard. Cupboard, Hitler. Hitler, cupboard. Come on."

"But I am the Fuhrer!" Hitler said as he was led over to a cupboard that opened to reveal shelves with books.

Rory ignored him, pushing the man inside. "Right, in you go!"

Ember caught the leader's eye and made sure he was listening before she spoke. "For your own sake, stay in here until we've all gone."

"Who are you?" He asked. Something about the woman made him want to listen to her instructions, which left him more confused.

Rory didn't bother with an answer, and simply closed the door in his face.

The Doctor had by now gone over to check the other man. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I..." the man began, only to trail off and fall into a dead faint.

"I think he just fainted." Rory said, quickly checking the man's pulse again.

The Doctor looked suspicious as Ember reached his side. "Yes, that was a faint. A perfect faint."

Ember nodded. "A little too perfect, isn't it?"

"Mels?"

They all turned at Amy's voice, to see Mels stood to one side, a hand pressed to her side and a look of pain on her face. "Hitler..."

"What about him?" The Doctor asked.

"...Lousy shot..." the young woman got out before she collapsed.

"Mels! Mels!" Amy cried as they ran over to her.

The Doctor saw blood on the hand Mels was covering her side with. "Rory!"

"No, no, no, no!" Rory said, going right into nurse mode, pulling Mels' hand away from the wound. "I've got to stop the bleeding!"

"How bad is it? Rory, what can we do?"

"Just keep her conscious. Stay with us, Mels."

Ember shifted so that she was knelt beside Mels' head, quietly speaking to her.

"Hey, look at me." The Doctor urged the woman. "Just hold on."

Mels looked at him, her breathing shaky as she spoke. "I used to dream about you. All those stories Amy used to tell me..."

"What stories? Tell me what stories. Vampires in Venice. That's a belter!"

"When I was little, I was going to marry you." Mels glanced at Ember as the brunette brushed a loose braid away from her face. "Or you. I'm flexible that way..."

"Well, we'd love to, but we-I'm sort of taken already," The Doctor said, either not seeing or purposely ignoring Ember's puzzled look. "But you stay alive and you can come to my wedding, deal? Deal? We can even dance if my wife lets me."

Mels gave a breathless chuckle. "Shouldn't you ask my parents permission?"

"As soon as you're well, I'll get on the phone."

"Might as well do it now, since they're both right here. Penny in the air." Mels smiled at the wide eyes now looking at her. "Penny drops."

Rory blinked as Mels' hands began to glow. "What the hell's going on?"

The Doctor only realised now that Ember was saying things like "Just let it flow" or "you know what happens next", but didn't get to ask why when he saw the familiar orange glow of regeneration energy and grabbed the Ponds, pulling them up with him. "Back! Back! Back! Get back!"

Ember helped Mels to her feet before she stood back. Mels looked at her glowing hands. "Last time I did this, I ended up a toddler in the middle of New York."

"Okay, Doctor, explain what is happening, please." Amy said, her and Rory looking on in shock as the glow spread over Mels' body.

"Mels." The Doctor breathed in realisation. "Short for..."

Mels nodded. "Melody."

"Yeah." Amy wasn't sure where this was going. "I named my daughter after her."

"You named your daughter... after your daughter."

"It took me years to find you two." Mels said. "I'm so glad I did. And you see? It all worked out in the end, didn't it. You got to raise me after all."

Now Amy got it. "You're Melody?"

"But if she's Melody," Rory said, "that means that she's also-"

"Shut up, Dad. I'm focusing on a dress size."

The glow became almost blinding as the regeneration finally kicked in, making Mels throw her arms and head back with a scream. Everyone was almost knocked back by the force of the energy, and could only watch as the woman transformed before their eyes into a familiar person...

When the glow dispersed, the regeneration over, River Song stood before them wearing Mels' clothes.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Whoa! Right, let's see, then." She said, shaking herself before she began inspecting her body. "Ooo, it's all going on down there, isn't it?" Her hand went up to her new hair. "The hair! Oh, the hair." She ran over to a mirror that was hanging over the fireplace, inspecting herself. "It just doesn't stop, does it? Look at that. Everything changes. Oh, but I love it. I love it! I'm all sort of mature."

She turned to face the shocked group, which didn't include Ember as she already knew what was coming, and put her foot on an upturned chair in a pose that most would call 'the Mrs Robinson'. "Hello, Benjamin."

The Doctor covered his eyes with his hand, only to pull it away and look at Ember, mouthing 'Who's Benjamin?' She only shrugged.

"The teeth." River felt her teeth and looked at the mirror again. "The teeth, the teeth! Oh, look at them."

She then surprised the Doctor by running right up to him, pinning him between herself and the desk behind him and wedging herself between his legs as he was almost sat on the desk. "Watch out that bow tie." She turned on the spot, making the Doctor more uncomfortable as he squirmed. "Excuse me, you lot. I need to weigh myself."

She dashed out of the room. The Doctor remained still as Amy, Rory and Ember joined him at the desk, though only the first two leaned against it on either side of him while Ember found herself where River had stood but with the Doctor's arms around her. It was almost like he was seeking her for something stable, so she let him, even if the position made her blush.

"That's... Melody." Amy finally said.

"That's River Song." Rory added.

River poked her head back into the room. "Who's River Song?"

The four of them blinked at her before the Doctor gave a weak reply. "Spoilers."

"Spoilers? What spoilers?" River paused. "Hang on, just something I have to check."

She disappeared again, and Rory took a breath. "Is anybody else finding today just a bit difficult? I'm getting a sort of banging in my head."

"Yeah, I think that's Hitler in the cupboard." Amy retorted.

"That's not helping."

"This isn't the River Song we know yet." The Doctor said, standing and moving forward. Somehow he was able to do it while keeping Ember in his arms. "This is her right at the start. Doesn't even know her name."

Ember raised her hand. "Quick question, just so I know. Was she conceived in the Tardis?"

Everyone looked at her in puzzlement, though it was the Doctor who answered. "Yes. Their wedding night. Why?"

"Just so I have the facts straight." Ember's watch chose that moment to beep, making her frown and look in her pocket for her little bottle of medication. She took a pill without water, only to pause as she saw the Doctor and the Ponds looking at her oddly. "... what?"

"I thought you were off the medication," Rory said.

"Why would you think that? I've always had..." Ember trailed off, suddenly having a though as she looked at the Doctor. "You said someday I wouldn't need them. I'm guessing that you've encountered a future me that doesn't take them anymore."

The Doctor nodded. "But you're not there yet."

"Oh, that's magnificent!" River's joyous cry prevented the conversation from going further, making the four of them all turn to look as she returned, leaning on the doorframe. "I'm going to wear lots of jumpers! Well, now, enough of all that. Down to business."

Suddenly she had a gun - Hitler's gun - and was pointing it at the Doctor.

"Oh, hello." The Doctor said, having moved Ember behind him the moment he saw the gun. "I thought you wanted to marry me."

"Or her. But I told you I'm not a wedding person."

"Doctor, what's she doing?" Rory asked, not daring to move in case he made her fire.

"What she's programmed to."

"Where'd she get the gun?"

"Hello, Benjamin." Ember said. "Distraction technique while she grabbed the gun from the chair where you left it."

"You noticed." River smiled sweetly as she walked to where the desk was, before she pulled the trigger... only for it to click harmlessly. The chambers were empty. Amy and Rory, who'd flinched, were just as surprised.

"Of course she did: Ember knows a lot," The Doctor said, unsurprised. He'd taken the liberty of emptying the gun of its bullets while River had been regenerating. "And I noticed too. As soon as I knew you were coming, I tidied up a bit."

"I know you did." River shot back. When she'd pinned him to the desk and spoke about his bow tie, she'd seen the gun in the fruit bowl and went for it.

The Doctor shrugged, having turned the bowl around. Instead of a gun, River pulled a banana on him. "I know you know."

"Goodness, is killing you going to take all day?" River said as she rolled her eyes.

"Why?" The Doctor took the banana from her and tossed it in the air before tossing it to Ember, who shrugged and pocketed it. "Are you busy?"

"Oh, I'm not complaining." River quickly grabbed for letter opener that was lying on the desk, only to flinch back as a small plume of fire erupted over it. She turned to look at Ember, who had her hand out.

The Doctor turned and walked back to Ember's side, patting her head. "If you were in a hurry, you could've killed me in the cornfield."

"We'd only just met. I'm a psychopath. I'm not rude." River quipped before she grabbed the gun that was still in the fruit bowl and turned to point it at them.

Amy and Rory flinched back again, but Ember smirked as the Doctor simply held up the clip that he'd taken from the gun before he put it in the fruit bowl.

"You are not a psychopath." Amy said. "Why would she be a psychopath?"

"Oh, Mummy, Mummy, pay attention." Riversaid as she and the Doctor circled each other. "I was trained and conditioned for one purpose. I was born to kill the Doctor."

"Demon's Run, remember?" The Doctor said, allowing the woman to get close. "This is what they were building. My bespoke psychopath."

"I'm all yours, Sweetie." River flirted, placing a light kiss on the Doctor's lips.

"Only River Song gets to call me that."

"And who's River Song?"

"An old friend of mine."

"Stupid name." River turned away, going over to the smashed window to look out at the city beyond. "Oh, look at that. Berlin on the eve of war. A whole world about to tear itself apart. Now that's my kind of town." She turned to look at them. "Mum, Dad, don't follow me. And, yes, that is a warning."

"No warning for me then?" The Doctor asked.

"No need, my love. The deed is done and so are you."

The Doctor made to step forward, only to suddenly stagger. Rory and Amy were at his side in an instant.

As for Ember... she was struggling to control the anger that suddenly sprung up when the Doctor had staggered. She had no idea where it had come from, but something in her was practically chomping at the bit to go for River.

_She hurt the Doctor!_ Something deep down was practically snarling. _She hurt him, she hurt him, SHE HURT HIM!!_

"No warning or kiss for me either?" She said. She was glad she was able put up a placid front while her insides twisted in anger.

River winked at her. "You're free to follow me anywhere now, Sweetie."

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Amy asked as she and Rory tried to help the Doctor stand.

"What have you done?" He grunted. "River!"

River rolled her eyes. "Oh, River, River, River. More than a friend, I think."

"What have you done?!"

"It was never going to be a gun for you, Doctor. The man of peace who understands every kind of warfare, except, perhaps, the cruellest."

The Doctor rubbed his mouth, realising what had happened.

"Kiss, kiss." River blew them a kiss before she turned and jumped out of the window.

"What's wrong with you?" Rory asked. "What's she done to you?"

"Poisoned me. But I'm fine." The Doctor paused. "Well, no, I'm dying, but I've got a plan."

Before Amy could ask what the plan was, she heard a sound behind her. It was almost like a big, dangerous animal growling just before it struck, but when she turned, all she saw was Ember.

Ember... who was glaring at the broken window and had her fists clenched so tight her knuckles were white.

"Ember?" She asked, making the boys turn to look as well.

The Doctor's eyes widened when he saw her posture. "Ember, it's okay. I'm fine."

The brunette didn't seem to hear him, bearing her teeth slightly as another growl-like sound came out. She moved then, about to run to the window herself before the Doctor got in her path, wrapping his arms around her with what strength he had in him. She almost shoved him away, but he pressed her head against his chest. The combination of the sound of his hearts beating, the scent of him and the fact that he'd been weakened made her pause, which was enough for the Doctor to hold her closer. "Breathe, Ember. It's alright."

"But..." she could barely speak, the anger churning away at her. "But she _hurt_ you..."

"You know she doesn't mean it. Come on, you need to clear your head." The Doctor panted, though he tried to hide it as he kissed the top of her head. "Stay with me, Ember. Don't let the anger win."

Ember had to take deep breaths to try to settle the anger. She didn't have time to lose her temper; not while the Doctor was in danger. That thought made the anger simmer down to a point where she could control it better, though it felt almost like talking an animal out of blindly attacking. "I... I'm okay now..."

The Doctor slowly loosened his hold, relieved when she didn't shove him aside. He had to put a bit more weight on her, however, as the poison in his system was already taking effect on his balance. "That's my girl."

Amy looked slightly wary as she stepped forward, keeping a close eye on Ember as Rory moved to help hold the Doctor up so that the brunette didn't have to take all of his weight. "Doctor, you said you had a plan. What plan?"

"Not dying. See? Fine."

"Liar," Ember said, now looking calmer.

"Okay, what do we do?" Rory asked. "How do we help you?"

The Doctor pulled out his Sonic and handed it to Amy. "Take this. The Tardis can home in on it. Now, go. Get after her."

Rory, at Ember's insistance, went over to the window to try to see where River went. The brunette began to help the Doctor towards the Tardis.

"You said the smoke was deadly." Amy said, moving to help Ember carry him.

"No, no, the smoke's fine." The Doctor said, wincing as Ember lightly elbowed him in the ribs. "The poison will kill me first. Now, get after River!"

"I don't understand, okay? One minute she's going to marry you and then she's going to kill you!"

"Ah, well, she's been brainwashed. It all makes sense to her. Plus, she is a woman. Oh, shut up. I'm dying."

Ember grunted as she freed her left hand to push open the Tardis door. "Amy, go! Get after her! We'll catch up!" Amy started to run to the window where Rory was already climbing down, only to stop when the brunette called after her. "It's gonna be a rough ride, but you can do it! Oh, and blood is thicker than water!"

Amy knew better than to question Ember's hints, so she took note of it and continued to follow her husband.

Ember pulled the Doctor with her into the Tardis, coughing at the smoke. "Extractor fans on! Please!"

The Doctor looked up as a humming sound came from above, hidden fans sucking up the smoke so they could breathe better. "Oh, that works?"

"Course it does!" Ember said and she let him sit on the floor and ran over to the console. "Ok, gotta get it together..."

"I'm shutting down," the Doctor muttered. "I need an interface. Voice interface. Come on, emergency!"

An image of the Doctor flickered to life on the other side of the console. _"Voice interface enabled."_

"Oh no, no, no, no, no. Give me someone I like!"

The hologram changed to resemble Rose Tyler. Ember flinched at that. She'd yet to meet Rose after Canary Wharf, and wasn't looking forward to it.

The Doctor huffed. "Oh, thanks. Give me guilt." The image changed to Martha Jones. "Also guilt." Then Donna Noble. "More guilt. Argh! Come on, there must be someone left in the universe I haven't screwed up yet."

The image changed to show Amelia Pond, as a child. _"Voice interface enabled."_

The Doctor blinked up at the image. "Oh. Oh, Amelia Pond, before I got it all wrong. My sweet little Amelia."

_"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface."_

"Hey, let's run away and have adventures. Come along, Pond."

_"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface."_

"You are so Scottish!"

"No time to argue with the Tardis, Doctor!" Ember cut in before she faced the hologram. "Update on his condition, please!"

_"His system has been contaminated by the poison of the Judas tree. He will be dead in thirty two minutes."_

The monotone response coming from what looked like a little girl made Ember flinch as the Doctor panted. "Okay. So, basically better regenerate, that's what you're saying."

_"Regeneration disabled. You will be dead in thirty two minutes."_

"What if I gave him my regeneration energy?" Ember asked.

The Doctor looked up at her in surprise. "Ember, no..."

_"Negative."_ The interface cut him off. _"Your regeneration energy is not compatible."_

That made Ember look at the hologram. "What does that mean?"

_"Your regeneration energy is in constant flux, therefore it's too powerful to give to another in large concentrations. The concentration required to counteract the poison of the Judas tree is not possible: If you were to attempt to rid him of the poison, you would instead kill him yourself."_

Ember felt her blood go cold at those words. "I... I don't understand..."

"You're too strong," The Doctor said, making her turn to look at him. He looked like he really didn't want to tell her, but he knew that she needed to hear it. "You remember that ship in Craig's flat, the one that tried to get you to be the pilot? That's what will happen if you tried to give me your regeneration energy, like putting too much voltage through a cable. If you gave me too much, it would burn me out."

The hologram of Amelia spoke again. _"In small concentrations, your regeneration energy can provide a longer resistance, but not a permanent one."_

"You mean I can buy him more time?" Ember asked. "How much?"

_"Approximately ten point three minutes."_

Ember wanted to throw her hands up in frustration. "Oh, great. We're gonna have a proper talk about this later, you know!"

"Plenty of time to find a cure, yeah?" The Doctor asked.

_"There is no cure. You will be dead in thirty two minutes."_

"Why do you keep saying that?"

_"Because you will be dead in thirty two minutes."_

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You see? There you go again. Basically skipping thirty one whole minutes when I'm absolutely fine. Scottish, that's all I'm saying!"

_"You will be fine for thirty one minutes. You will be dead in thirty two minutes."_

"Scotland's never conquered anywhere, you know. Not even a Shetland. River needs me. She's only just beginning. I can't die now."

_"You will not die now. You will die in thirty two minutes."_

"Will you stop saying that?!" Ember snapped at last. Each time the hologram said he was going to die, it made that little bubble of rage grow a tiny bit bigger. The last flare had scared her, and she didn't want to lose her temper. Not when she was so close to losing control earlier.

"Argh!" The Doctor grit his teeth as another wave of pain shot through him. "Okay, need something for the pain now. Come on, Amelia. It's me. Please."

_"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface."_

"Amelia, listen to me. I can be brave for you, but you have got to tell me how."

_"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface."_

"Amelia. Amelia, please... give me something..."

The image and the voice changed again, but this one caught Ember by surprise: she was looking at herself. _"Will this help?"_

That made Ember blink. What did that mean?

Before she could ask, the Doctor's hand found hers and squeezed it tightly. Ember turned to find him on his knees beside her, looking up at her while trying to fight the pain that was clearly showing on his face. Seeing him in such a state made her hearts twist as well as that bubble of anger swell.

"Ember..." he gasped, drawing her attention away from the churning anger. "Please..."

Somehow, Ember knew what he was asking. She knelt down in front of him, taking his face in her hands so that he was looking at her. "You can do this, Theta. I believe in you. Now tell me what I need to do to help you."

A moment passed as he closed his eyes, seemingly to draw the strength from somewhere, and then looked at her again. "Just concentrate, and imagine the energy passing from you to me. It won't be much, and I'll tell you when to stop."

Ember closed her eyes, blocking out anything that might distract her, and tried to concentrate, wanting to keep a slow but steady flow so that she didn't overwhelm him too soon. In her mind's eye, she imagined the golden energy glowing on her skin before pushing it towards the Doctor.

It happened for real, except the energy looked more silver than gold. The Doctor's faint intake of breath told her she was doing it right, at least, and she kept at it.

Exactly four seconds later, the Doctor spoke in a breathless gasp. "Stop, that's enough."

Stopping was harder than Ember thought, that feeling deep inside wanting to give him more, but she pushed it away and made herself stop. She opened her eyes, hoping she hadn't botched it, and was relieved when she saw the Doctor still alive and looking slightly better, though he was still sweating a bit.

He gave her a smile and put his hand over her left one, drawing it closer so he could plant a kiss on the palm and make her blush. Then he grabbed on to the console and began to pull himself to his feet, Ember moving to help him, and then together they got to work.

* * *

They quickly tracked the Sonic until it stayed in one place, and then the Doctor changed to evening clothes of a black suit complete with top hat and cane. Despite Ember's added energy, they were still on the clock, but at least they still had the time to do it. Ember opted not to change to save a little more time.

For once, they'd landed the Tardis without the wheezing that usually accompanied it, and were thus unnoticed as they stepped out of the box to find themselves in a fancy restaurant. The place had been cleared out, curtesy of River, who was now wearing the clothes she'd also stolen from the guests before they left.

The Doctor couldn't see Rory, but Ember's hint of "they've hitched a ride" made more sense when the scanner's reading told him where the Sonic was.

"Oh, regeneration." River was saying to who she thought was Amy. She was wearing a Luftwaffe uniform to try it out, along with the cap, while looking at herself in a full-length mirror. "It's a whole new colouring to work with."

'Amy' moved to stand beside the mirror. _"You killed the Doctor on the orders of the movement known as the Silence and Academy of the Question. You accept and know this to be true?"_

"Quite honestly, I don't really remember. It was all a bit of jumble." River shrugged, only to jump when 'Amy' shoved the mirror aside and opened her mouth, sending a beam of bright light at her. Whatever it was, it was clearly restricting and painful as River struggled. "No! No! Get off me!"

The Doctor chose that moment to speak, ending the attack and getting everyone's attention. He was leaning against the Tardis, looking for all intents and purposes like he was completely fine. "Sorry, did you say she killed the Doctor? The Doctor? Doctor who?"

River looked at his new attire. "You're dying and you stopped to change?"

"Oh, you should always waste time when you don't have any. Time is not the boss of you. Rule four hundred and eight." The Doctor walked down the few steps to grin at River before turning to 'Amy'. "Amelia Pond, judgment death machine. Why am I not surprised?" He lifted the cane, which opened at the top. "Sonic cane."

"Are you serious?"

"Never knowingly. Never knowingly be serious. "Rule twenty seven. You might want to write these down." He used the cane to scan 'Amy'. "Oh, it's a robot! With four hundred and twenty three life signs inside. A robot worked by tiny people." He grinned at Ember. "Love it. But how do you all get in there, though. Bigger on the inside? No, basic miniaturisation sustained by a compression field. Ooo. Watch what you eat, it'll get you every time. Amy, if you and Rory are okay, signal me." A moment passed, and then the light on the end of the cane glowed green. He tipped his hat. "Thanking you."

Ember went to the Doctor's side, knowing he'd need the help. Sure enough, the Doctor's left leg suddenly gave out on him. He'd have ended up on the floor if it hadn't been for the brunette helping him balance. "Argh! So sorry. Leg went to sleep. Just had a quick left leg power nap. I forgot I had one scheduled. Actually, better sit down." Ember helped him get to the steps to sit on them. "I think I heard the right one yawning."

River took the distraction as a chance to run, but she was barely at the door before 'Amy' turned her head and caught her in another beam.

"No!" Ember yelled.

The Doctor was just as concerned. "Don't you touch her! Do not harm her in any way!"

The beam stopped, but River was still stuck in some kind of light field that prevented her from moving. 'Amy' turned her head to look at the Doctor and spoke. _"__Why would you care? She's the women who kills you."_

The Doctor took off his top hat with a smirk. "I'm not dead."

_"You're dying."_

"Well, at least I'm not a time travelling shape shifting robot operated by miniaturised cross people, which, I have got to admit, I didn't see coming. What do you want with her?"

_"She's Melody Pond. According to records, the woman who kills the Doctor."_

"And I'm the Doctor. So what's it got to do with you?"

_"Throughout history, many criminals have gone unpunished in their lifetimes. Time travel has... responsibilities."_

The Doctor tilted his head. "What? You got yourselves time travel, so you decided to punish dead people?"

_"We don't kill them. We extract them near the end of their established timelines."_

"And then what?"

_"Give them hell."_

Ember rolled her eyes. "You think you have the right to do that? What gives you the right to do that? She isn't even at the end of her 'established timeline', but here you are, attacking her!"

The Doctor was in agreement. "I'd ask you who you think you are, but I think the answer is pretty obvious. So, who do you think I am, huh? The woman who killed the Doctor. It sounds like you've got my biography in there. I'd love a peek."

_"Our records office is sealed to the public. Foreknowledge is dangerous. The Great Fire should have told you that."_

"Oh, I have." Ember replied. "And you're right, knowing the future isn't always a good thing, but sometimes it can save lives."

"Besides, I'll be dead in five minutes." The Doctor added, patting Ember's hand when he felt it clench on his sleeve. "There isn't much foreknowledge left."

_"Sorry, can't do that."_ 'Amy' said. The Doctor was about to demand it when Ember pat his arm and shook her head.

"Amy, you can access them." She called, knowing the real one was listening. "It's like patient confidentiality: only immediate family members can give permission."

There was a pause, and then 'Amy' spoke again. _"__Records available."_

The Doctor grinned at Ember before he shakily got to his feet and faced the robot. "Question. I'm dying. Who wants me dead?"

_"The Silence."_

"What is the Silence? Why is it called that? What does it mean?"

_"The Silence is not a species. It is a religious order, or movement. Their core belief is that silence will fall when the question is asked."_

"What question?"

_"The first question. The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight."_

"Yes, but what is the question?"

There was a long pause, and then..._ "Unknown."_

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh. Well, fat lot of use that is, you big ginge. Call yourself a Records-argh!"

Ember held him as he body spasmed in pain, making him fall to the floor with a cry. "No, hang on!"

"Kidneys are always the first to quit. I've had better, you know." The white light that was holding River turned an angry red and she cried out in pain, making him focus. "Amy. Rory. Amy, can you hear me?"

_"What do we do?"_ 'Amy' said. Though her face was blank, the voice now sounded panicked. _"This is me. This is me actually talking. What do we do?"_

"Just stop them." The Doctor grunted, wanting to get up but unable to even with Ember's help. "She's your daughter. Just stop them!"

_"How? How?"_

"Use the Sonic!" Ember replied. She'd hoped they'd have more time thanks to her lending energy, but it was running out and she couldn't do anything to help him.

A few moments later, the energy around River disappeared. She panicked and was about to run when fire suddenly shot up in front of the door. She wasn't close enough to get hurt by it, but it was enough of a warning, so she turned to face the Time Lords. The Doctor was fading fast while Ember had her hand out.

"You stop and listen, Melody Pond!" The brunette said. She didn't want to hurt River, even if that little ball of anger was still clawing at the opportunity to, but the expression on her face left no room for argument even when the flames dispersed. "They've just saved you and put themselves in danger to do it!"

"Please... Now we have to save your parents." The Doctor said, growing weaker by the second. "Don't run. Now, I know you're scared, but never run when you're scared. Rule seven. Please..."

_"Doctor, can you hear us?"_ 'Amy' said. _"Doctor? Doctor, help us! Doctor, please!"_

The Doctor tried to stand, to go to the Tardis, but he couldn't even get to his feet. Ember also tried to help, but there wasn't anything she could do, and she hated it.

_"Doctor! Help! Ember!"_

"Look at you," River said, having sat in a nearby chair. "You still care."

_"Doctor, help! Doctor, help us! Please help us, Ember!"_

"It's impressive, I'll give you that."

The Doctor gave up trying to move, knowing now that it was pointless. "River, please..."

"Again?" She stood. "Who is this River? She's got to be a woman. Am I right? You're not double-dating, are you?"

"Help us... Save Amy and Rory. Help us..."

"Tell me about her. Go on."

"...Just help..."

"Melody," Ember's voice made the woman look at her. "Those are your parents, and if that's not enough, they're your best friends. Please, help them, and then we'll tell you about River."

"But what can I do?" River asked.

Ember gestured with her head to the Tardis. "See that? You were conceived in that. That makes you a child of the Tardis. Use it. She'll help you, so go get them out!"

Rover hesitated for a moment longer, and then she went to the Tardis. The door opened for her and she was quick to get in, and a moment later, the Tardis wheezed as it disappeared.

"You should... have gone with her..." The Doctor murmured.

"Not leaving you on your own," Ember replied, taking his hand. "You're not gonna die, just so you know."

"Is that a... hint or... a spoiler?"

Ember tried not to cry, but her eyes refused to obey, and the tears came out. She knew what was going to happen, but that didn't mean watching him die wouldn't hurt. "Of course it's a spoiler, you... ugh!"

The Doctor gave a weak chuckle, though it turned into a grimace. Then the wheezing sound announced that the Tardis was returning, reappearing back where it had been. The door opened and Amy ran out, followed by Rory and River. The redhead ran to the Doctor's right side and took his hand, with Rory behind her and River standing a few steps away.

"You can't die now," Amy said. "I know you don't die now."

That made the Doctor groan. "Oh, Pond, you've got a schedule for everything."

"But it doesn't make any sense!"

"Time can be rewritten." Ember said, wiping her eyes, but the tears kept flowing. "The future isn't set in stone until it happens!"

Rory leaned forward. "Doctor, what do we do? Come on. How do we help you?"

"Sorry, Rory, you can't..." The Doctor said weakly. He and the companions missed it when Ember glanced at River, but she didn't. "Nobody can. Ponds, listen to me. I need to talk to your daughter..."

Amy and Rory reluctantly stood and stepped back, giving River room to come closer.

"Find her." He said when she was close enough to kneel beside him. "Find River Song and tell her something from me."

"Tell her what?" She asked, leaning closer to hear him as he whispered something. She gave a weak smile. "Well, I'm sure she knows..."

The smile fell when she pulled back, revealing that the Doctor's eyes were closed and he was no longer breathing. Ember choked on a sob as she clutched his limp hand. Her hearts were twisting painfully, and an emotional war was going on inside her; her grief despite the knowledge that River will save him, and the anger that wanted to _make_ her save him.

River stood and stepped back, moving so that she stood next to her parents before she spoke. "Who's River Song?"

Amy looked at her, easily seeing the sincerity in her daughter's eyes, and then turned to the robot that stood still to one side. "Are you still working? Because I'm still a relative. Access files on River Song."

_"Records available."_ The robot said.

"Show me her. Show me River Song."

The robot changed, small squares rippling over it until it no longer looked like Amy, but River... or rather, Melody.

Amy allowed her daughter a moment to come to terms with what she was looking at before she spoke. "What did he say? The Doctor gave you a message for River Song. What was it?"

River turned to look at Ember, who had finally looked up. "I was told you jump around his timeline against your will. That you're a prisoner because of it. They said that his death would set you free."

"The first bit is close to the truth," Ember replied. "I can't control where or when I go, and it is always around his timeline. But it isn't against my will, and I'm not a prisoner. I'd choose to follow him wherever he goes." She clenched a fist and thumped it against the step beside her, not even bothering to fight the tears anymore. "I'd give my life for him, but it's not enough! My regeneration energy is too powerful for him to take; it would have killed him quicker."

River looked at her hands in thought, and then concentrated. Amy and Rory were surprised when her hands began to emit the same golden glow of regeneration.

"What's happening?" Amy asked. "River, what are you doing?"

"Just tell me." River said to Ember as she stepped closer. "The Doctor... is he worth it?"

Ember blinked through her tears. "He's worth everything and more."

Nodding, River held her hands out, which looked almost white hot, and gently placed them on the Doctor's face. A few moments later, his eyes opened, and it didn't take more than another moment for him to realise why. "River... No... What are you doing?"

"Hello, Sweetie." River said with a smile. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, transferring her regeneration energy to him.

Ember could feel the energy through his hand, which she was still holding. It was like holding a hot cup of tea by the body instead of the handle, but she refused to let go.

Less than a minute later, River pulled back and fell to the side, unconscious as the glowing gold dispersed. And the Doctor sat up.

* * *

After taking River to the hospital run by the Sisters of the Infinate Schism, the Doctor went back to the Tardis to change back into his regular outfit. Ember decided to let the newly reunited family have some time to themselves and went with the Doctor.

Though she quickly (she won't admit almost) regretted that decision when she realised that he was going to change in front of her. Again.

"You need to stop doing that," She grumbled, having turned around to give him privacy while he changed.

"Why?" He asked, genuinely puzzled. "You've seen me without clothes on before. Several times, actually."

Ember shook her head, trying to stop her mind from going off and imagining what those scenarios were going to be like. "I know you don't really care who sees you, but... I kinda grew up on the premise that you don't just take your clothes off in front of people, even if they're your friends. At least, I think I did..."

"You think?"

"I... I'm coming to terms with the possibility that my whole life as a human was... less than real. It might have been a dream, or maybe an illusion, or a virtual reality or something. But if that's the case... then who am I? What was my life before this jumping around? Why don't I remember?"

The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder, making her turn around. To her relief, he was fully dressed in the clothes he'd worn before, though he didn't have his jacket on yet. "There's something you're not sharing. Come on, talk to me."

Ember hesitated, and then sighed. "My regeneration energy is too powerful. That's what you and the Tardis have said. You told me once that you haven't seen any other versions of me, so that means I haven't regenerated yet. But if I do... I've seen how violent they can get, especially when it's held back for a while. What if, when I regenerate, I really hurt someone?"

There was a moment as the Doctor contemplated something before he spoke. "You gave me a spoiler, so I guess it's only fair that I give you one. Ember... your regeneration energy isn't just powerful, it's in flux. It's constantly churning and bubbling inside you, like you're on the cusp of regenerating or just have. That isn't something from your Time Lord heritage. That bit of you that isn't Time Lord is... boosting the regeneration energy, if you will. The powers you have, combined with that energy, makes you very powerful. That kind of power can be very dangerous if it's let loose. I've never seen you regenerate... because you can't."

_"I've just been told I have something dangerous inside me..."_ Ember remembered saying that to Clara after talking to Emma Grayling.

"Regenerating is a form of dying, in a sense," The Doctor added. "And you already know that it's a very bad thing if you died."

Ember met his gaze. "But why? What would happen if I died that's so bad that even the _Silence_ don't want to risk it?"

"I'm sorry, but I think that's a spoiler that will have to wait."

"Alright, then how about telling me why I was so angry when River poisoned you. I knew it was going to happen, I knew it would be alright, but it was like... like having to leash a wild dog, but the dog was inside me."

The Doctor hesitated. "You've been rather... protective of me. Sometimes you want to act without thinking, even when you know it's going to be fine. Sometimes, I can calm you down, others you're able to do it yourself..."

Ember caught on to what he _wasn't_ saying. "There's been at least one time that I haven't calmed down, hasn't there?"

"And that would be another spoiler, I'm afraid."

"Ugh." The brunette wanted answers, but she knew she wouldn't get them; at least not right now. "Fine, I'll leave it. I got a little out of you, so that's something. Come on. River should be waking up any minute now."

The Doctor nodded, grabbing his tweed jacket and leading her out of the Tardis and into the hospital. A short walk down a cooridor led them to the room where River was staying, finding her and Amy and Rory.

"He said no-one could save him," River was saying, "but he must have known I could."

"Rule one." The Doctor said, everyone looking at him. "The Doctor lies."

River didn't reply, her eyes closing and a soft smile on her face.

"She just needs to rest." A nurse standing to one side said. "She'll be absolutely fine."

The Doctor approached the bedside, reaching into his inside pocket. "No, she won't. She will be amazing."

Ember smiled as he placed a brand new, Tardis blue diary on the side table, tied with a red ribbon. After a moment, he turned and walked to the door, taking Ember's hand and leading her out of the room. The brunette signalled Amy and Rory to follow, which they did, and they four of them went back to the Tardis.

"So that's it," Amy asked as the rotor started up and they were leaving, "we just leave her there?"

"Sisters of the Infinite Schism." The Doctor said. "Greatest hospital in the universe."

"Yeah, but she's our daughter. Doctor, she's River and she's our daughter."

"Amy, I know. But we have to let her make her own way now. We have too much foreknowledge. It's a..." The Doctor looked at the screen on the console, seeing his biography - including when and where he was supposed to die. "... dangerous thing, foreknowledge."

Amy noticed he was looking at the screen. "What's that?"

Ember quickly hit a switch to turn the screen off before Amy could see as the Doctor replied. "Nothing. Just some data I downloaded from the Teselecta. Very boring."

"Doctor," Rory said. "River was brainwashed to kill you, right?"

"Well, she did kill me, and then she used her remaining lives to bring me back. As first dates go, I'd say that was mixed signals."

"But that stuff that they put in her head, is that gone now? The River that we know in the future, she is in prison... for murder."

"Whose murder?" Amy added. The Doctor gave them a look before he smiled and turned away. The redhead got the hint that he wouldn't answer that. "Will we see her again?"

The Doctor did a loop around the console, flicking switches and pressing buttons, before he turned and went up the steps. "Oh, she'll come looking for us."

"Yeah, but how? How do people even look for you?"

"Oh, Pond." The Doctor stopped at the top of the stairs and grinned. "Haven't you figured that one out yet?"

Ember spoke up then, making the couple turn to look at her. "Museums, guys. River will figure it out."

* * *

And there you have it! Hope this was good.

If you think Ember was a little quick to drop the subject about her temper, remember that she's talking to the Doctor - if he doesn't want to give you an answer, you won't get one. Ember sadly has to pick her battles.

I think I've mentioned before, but I suck at detailed and lengthy descriptions. I'm relying on you guys to have seen the episodes so you know the small details like what the characters are wearing, what certain areas look like, etc - except for Ember, of course. I'm hoping to practice that with the original stuff I'm working on for her.

Next Time: More ghosts are in store for Ember, and not just literally - a moment she's been dreading is finally coming, and another clue about her past is due!


	6. Chapter Six: The Unquiet Dead

And here we are with a new chapter!

On a side note, more people have been asking when I update the chapters. I'd mentioned it at the end of the first chapter, but I'll put it here again.

I intend to stick to a schedule of updating every Monday, usually around lunchtime in the UK time zone. If there is a two parter, I'm going to try to put the second part up a few days after the first. This is as long as real life scenerios don't interfere with the schedule - kinda like what's happened with this one, as it is a little later than I planned due to real life getting in the way.

With that out of the way, let's get to the chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Six: The Unquiet Dead

* * *

When Ember jumped next, she was wearing her denim jacket, black shirt and jeans, and dark grey boots that went halfway up to the knee. She never claimed to have much of a fashion sense; she simply wore what she felt comfortable in, which included the jacket as it had become a constant companion to her travels.

She was all the more glad for it when her next destination turned out to be a darkened street with falling snow. The chill in the air made her shiver, and then again when she noticed that people were walking about dressed in what she vaguely remembered as 1860s attire.

"Uh oh," she muttered, glancing down at her clothes. "Not the best way to dress for this time period."

_"Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me."_ The words of the Tenth Doctor came to mind.

With a deep breath to psych herself up, Ember stood straight and walked along the street, doing her best 'badass mother' stride. To her surprise, no one confronted her about her unusual appearance, though she wasn't oblivious to the double takes and stares people sent her way.

_'Okay,'_ she thought to herself. _'Now to find out exactly where I am and where the Doctor is.'_

As luck would have it, the direction she'd picked led her to the town square of... wherever she was. After looking around, Ember decided the best bet would be to ask someone, so she picked out a man who was selling newspapers. She approached and tapped the man on the shoulder, waiting for the expected reaction.

She wasn't disappointed. The man turned to face her, only to pause as he saw her clothes and the scar on her face. "Um, ma'am?"

"Hi," Ember replied, digging around in her pocket for the wallet she knew was in there. "I'm a... traveler, of sorts, looking to the see the world and it's... wonders. Do you know of any entertainment I would be able to see this evening?"

The man looked her over again. "Well, um... I might know of something or other... if you would be so kind as to purchase a newspaper?"

"How about I pay for paper?"

Both Ember and the man turned to see none other than the Ninth Doctor... and Rose.

Ember had expected from the start that the next time she'd see Rose - who was currently wearing a dress that suited the era complete with black overcoat and a hair pin - was going to be hard, but now that she was facing the blonde, the first thing she did was cry. She tried to stop it, wiping her eyes, but the tears just kept coming. "I... sorry, I..."

The Doctor immediately went to her side, putting an arm around her. Rose moved closer and took one of her hands, which made the brunette cry even more. "Ember? What's wrong?"

"I... I just..." Ember stuttered. What could she say? "I'm... sorry, it's just... really good to see you..."

Rose smiled. "Well, I'm happy to see you too, but that can't be the only reason you're crying."

Ember nodded in thanks to the Doctor when he took a white handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. "Well... it's just that... last time I saw you... a lot of stuff happened."

"What stuff?" The Doctor asked.

"Some... really bad stuff. Like this," Ember pointed to the scar. "And some other stuff, but I can't tell you. Spoilers."

"But I was there?" Rose said.

Ember nodded. "Yea. Hadn't seen you since, so... I just didn't expect to start bawling in the middle of the street. Sorry."

The Doctor squeezed her gently. "It's okay. Does it happen soon?"

"It's a fair bit in the future. You're gonna meet a lot of new faces first."

"Hmm," The Doctor nodded as he turned and paid for a newspaper. Rose squeezed Ember's hand.

"It's okay." She said. "Whatever happened. We're gonna be there for you."

Ember could only nod with a small smile.

"I got the flight a bit wrong." The Doctor spoke up, now looking at the newspaper.

Rose shrugged. "I don't care."

"It's not 1860, it's 1869."

"I don't care."

"And it's not Naples."

"I don't care."

"It's Cardiff."

That made Rose pause. "Oh. Right."

Ember shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with Cardiff. Besides, you're not gonna get bored here."

Before Rose or the Doctor could ask her to elaborate, there was suddenly screaming coming from down the street.

"That's more like it!" The Doctor said, tossing the newspaper aside and taking off, Ember and Rose right behind him, though Rose struggled a little on account of her dress.

They reached what seemed to be a theatre, where people were running out in panic. The trio ran in, to find what looked like a glowing blue orb flying about in the air above an old woman, who looked like death warmed over with glassy eyes.

"Fantastic!" The Doctor said as the woman collapsed. He ran over to where a man on the stage was watching. "Did you see where it came from?"

The man - Charles Dickens, if Ember remembered right - didn't look impressed. "Ah, the wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you're satisfied, sir!"

"Oi! Leave her alone!" Rose called, seeing a main in a suit and a young woman in a cowl picking up the fallen woman and carrying her out. "Doctor, I'll get them."

"No," Ember cut in, putting a hand on her arm to stop her. "You can't run in that dress. I'll go."

"Be careful!" The Doctor called after the brunette as she gave chase.

Even if she hadn't seen where the two had gone, Ember already knew where to find them. She caught up with them as they were loading the old woman into the back of a hearse. "Hey! I want a word with you!"

"Oh, it's a tragedy, miss." The woman said, trying to deter her. "Don't worry yourself. Me and the master will deal with it. The fact is, this poor lady's been taken with the brain fever and we have to get her to the infirmary."

"More like the morgue," Ember shot back. "That woman is dead, and don't even think about lying to me, Gwyneth!"

That made the woman pause, looking at her with wide eyes. "How did you know my name?"

"Lucky guess. Look, my friends and I can help you, but you have to listen-"

She was cut off as the man - Sneed - suddenly grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with a cloth. Ember tried to hold her breath, hoping she had inherited a Time Lord's respiratory bypass, but a gasp was forced out when she felt the man's free hand go around her, pressing on a place she really didn't want it to be anywhere near. Wether it was an accident or a sneaky slip, she couldn't tell, because her intake of breath had made her inhale something sickly sweet on the cloth, making her quickly lose consciousness.

The last thing she thought before it all went black was one word, one hope...

_"Doctor..."_

* * *

The Doctor had just realised that the creatures were made of gas when everything in him gave an almost violent shudder.

_"Doctor..."_

There was no voice, no words, but it felt like something had called to him; had reached out in an impossible way to alert him, to urge him to follow the feeling.

Wait, not some_thing_... some_one_.

"Doctor?" Rose asked. From her point of view, the Time Lord had gone stock still far too quickly to be normal. Her voice barely made it through to him. "What's wrong?"

"Ember..." was the first thing that came to his mind with clarity. Before he realised it, his feet were already taking him toward the entrance to the theatre; the last place he'd seen the brunette. Rose was right behind him, as well as Dickens himself, as they made their way back to the street.

The Doctor caught sight of a hearse being pulled by horses, and realised the feeling was coming from that very carriage. "Ember!"

"You're not escaping me, sir!" Dickens said as he and Rose caught up to him. "What do you know about that hobgoblin, hmm? Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?"

"Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks." The Doctor couldn't shake the feeling even if he tried: it had to be Ember, somehow calling out to him. He spotted a nearby coach and ran to it. "Oi, you! Follow that hearse!"

The driver turned to look at him as he climbed into the carriage. "I can't do that, sir."

The Doctor glanced up. "Why not?"

"I'll tell you why not." Dickens said even as Rose quickly got in. "I'll give you a very good reason why not. Because this is my coach!"

"Well, get in, then." The Doctor practically pulled the man in. "Move!"

The carriage quickly set off, giving chase to the hearse as the Doctor tried to pin down what the feeling meant. Was Ember hurt? Was she calling him somehow, or even aware that she was doing it? She'd told Rose to stay back: did that mean she knew she'd get kidnapped?

If she'd changed things so that Rose wouldn't be the one kidnapped, could that mean that Ember was now in danger?

The only way to get an answer was to find her. Quickly.

* * *

_She was sat in a tall-backed chair, looking at parchments of paper on a table in front of her. It wasn't clear what was on the parchments, but her expression was one of frustration._

_"What are they thinking?" She muttered to no one in particular. "This is impossible..."_

_"Is it?" A male voice made her look to her left. A man was stood there, but for some reason his face wasn't visible. His voice was not familiar, either. "If we can get their cooperation, this could be a significant breakthrough for all of us."_

_She shook her head as she stood up. "This is a fantasy at best. There's no way of telling if this is possible at all! And if it doesn't work, what would happen to the host? At best, they'd die, that's what. At worst... it doesn't bare thinking about."_

_"And if it works, we would never need to fear the end ever again."_

_"Or we create an unstoppable... thing. If the so-called 'success' were to turn rogue, we'd be annihilated. The risk is far too great."_

_"... so you're not in favour of the project?"_

_She shook her head again. "No, I am not. I will not allow anyone to be used as an illogical science experiment."_

_The man bowed and turned to leave, and she sighed as she sat down again..._

* * *

Ember woke from the dream to a throbbing head. With a groan, she sat up and rubbed her temples, not realising yet that she'd been laid on a table. "Ugh, I am going to hit that guy. What the heck did he knock me out with...?"

She hadn't expected an answer, but she got one, of sorts. A moan made her look to her left as a man sat up from a coffin on another table. His skin was tinged blue for a few moments and his eyes were like ice as he stiffly turned to look at her.

"Oh no," she muttered, shifting to get off of the table. She stumbled slightly, but stayed on her feet as the man - no, the corpse - got out of the coffin and stumbled toward her, groaning "That's a nice zombie shuffle you got there, but I know you're not a zombie."

The corpse ignored her, shuffling forward.

* * *

The Doctor, Rose and Dickens had reached the mortuary and were trying to get in through the front door, but the maid from earlier was stopping them.

A gas lamp in the hallway behind the woman flared slightly, catching the Doctor's attention. "Having trouble with your gas?"

"What the Shakespeare is going on?" Dickens demanded.

Gwyenth couldn't stop the Doctor from pushing past her and going to the wall below the gas lamp. "You're not allowed inside, sir."

The Doctor ignored her, pressing his ear against the wall. "There's something inside the walls."

* * *

Ember stumbled back against the door that lead out of the room, but as she'd expected, it was locked. "Now, I'm warning you, you'd better stay back."

The coffin on the other side of the room proved to not be empty, as the woman from the theatre sat up in it and began to climb out, joining the man as they approached her.

"Oh, screw this!" Ember threw out her hand, making flames spring up between her and the corpses. The corpses immediately stopped their advance. "Ah, so you're not stupid like a zombie. Thought as much."

She turned to the door, thumping her fist on it. "Doctor! I'm in here! Doctor!"

* * *

"The gas pipes." The Doctor said. "Something's living inside the gas."

Rose looked around before turning to Gwyneth. "Where's Ember? We know she's here, so where did you put her?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about." The maid said.

* * *

Ember winced, the headache from whatever was used to knock her out was making it hard for her to keep up the fire, and she soon had no choice but to let them disperse. The corpses began to approach once more.

"Doctor!" She yelled, banging on the door again. "Open this damn door! Let me out!"

* * *

"Let me out!"

The Doctor shot up at hearing the familiar voice. "That's her!"

Rose followed as he took off, followed by Dickens and then Gwyneth. "Ember, can you hear me?"

"In here! Open this door or I'm gonna burn it down! Come on!"

The Doctor turned into a hallway and nearly ran into the man from before. He ignored the man and continued on even as Sneed yelled after him. "How dare you, sir!" He saw Rose and Dickens next. "This is my house!"

"Shut up." Dickens said.

"You kidnapped my friend!" Rose added. "You'd better hope she's okay!"

They ran on, following Ember's calls until she suddenly went quiet, but luckily the Doctor reached the door where her voice had come from. With one well-placed kick, he got the door open. Inside the room, Ember was restrained between the two corpses, the man's hand over her mouth.

"I think this is my dance." The Doctor said, stepping forward and pushing the man's hand away from Ember before taking her by the arm and pulling her back with him. She followed without a fight, though he did notice that she looked slightly unsteady on her feet, and that there was a line of burnt carpet on the floor.

"It's a prank." Dickens said, staring at the corpses. "It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence."

"No, we're not. The dead are walking." The Doctor glanced at Ember as Rose went to her side to hug her. "Hi."

"Hi. What took you so long?" Ember asked. "Get excited meeting Charles Dickens, did you?"

The Doctor shrugged, glad that she didn't seem hurt, and turned to face the corpses. "My name's the Doctor. Who are you, then? What do you want?"

_"Failing. Open the rift. We're dying!"_ The man spoke, but his voice was overlapped with several others. The woman spoke with him. _"Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us! Argh!"_

The corpses tipped their heads back and screamed, blue light leaving their their mouths and shooting across the room to go into the gas lamps. A moment later, the corpses dropped to the floor.

"Well, that was something." Ember said. She turned to see Sneed and frowned. "Oh, it's you. I have a message for you."

"Me?" Sneed asked, puzzled. "A message? What is it?"

In two steps, Ember moved away from Rose and right up to Sneed, and no one expected her to pull back a fist and take a swing, landing her right fist square into the man's nose that sent the man back against the wall. "That! That's for knocking me out!"

"Oh!" Sneed yelped as he held his nose, which was now bleeding. Gwyneth rushed to his side. "How dare you, woman!"

The Doctor stepped up behind Ember and gently took her arms. "Think yourself lucky that's all she did. Now, how about we all have a talk?"

* * *

The group of six ended up in the living room, where Gwyneth had brought tea from the kitchen while Sneed nursed his almost broken nose with a handkerchief. Ember was stood beside the Doctor next to the fireplace, having promised not to hit the man again, and Rose was pacing in the middle of the room. Dickens was on the other side of the room.

"First of all you drugged Ember," Rose said as Gwyneth poured the tea. "Then you kidnap her-"

"And don't think I didn't notice where you put your hands, buddy," Ember added. "I was going to hit you again for that, so you better thank the Doctor for stopping me."

Rose and the Doctor looked at her with wide eyes before the blonde rounded on the injured man. "You did what?!"

"I won't be spoken to like this!" Sneed said, standing up.

Ember shook off the Doctor's half hearted attempt to stop her, storming up to the man. She made a sound that was similar to a growl, which made Sneed stumble back into his seat again. "I don't care if you're rich or if you're the king of England! You do not put your hands on a woman without her permission, do you understand me?"

The man, seeing her eyes glint silver in a way that spoke of dire consequences, meekly nodded.

"Good. Now, after all of that, you locked me in a room which nearly landed me a starring role in the Walking Dead. I think you owe me an explanation, at the very least."

Sneed hesitated before he spoke. "It's not my fault. It's this house. It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back, and then the stiffs-" he hesitated when Ember shot him a look. "I mean, the dear departed started getting restless."

Dickens scoffed. "Tommyrot."

"You witnessed it. Can't keep the beggars down, sir. They walk. And it's the queerest thing, but they hang on to scraps."

Gwyneth placed the Doctor's and Ember's cups on the mantlepiece beside them. "Two sugars, sir, and a bit of milk for you, ma'am, just how you like it."

The Doctor looked at her in surprise: he hadn't told her how he liked his tea. He glanced at Ember, who nodded with a knowing smirk.

"One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service." Sneed said, not noticing the exchange. "Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir, just as she planned."

"Morbid fancy." Dickens said.

The Doctor sighed. "Oh, Charles, you were there."

"I saw nothing but an illusion."

"If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up. What about the gas?"

Sneed shook his head. "That's new, sir. Never seen anything like that."

"Means it's getting stronger, the rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through."

Rose looked at him. "What's the rift?"

The Doctor looked thoughtful. "A weak point in time and space. A connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time."

"That's how I got the house so cheap." Sneed said. "Stories going back generations."

Dickens stormed out of the room, slamming the door as he went.

"Echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air, and this feeling like a shadow passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine."

Ember turned to the Doctor, muttering "Go after Dickens" before she turned to follow Rose and Gwyneth out of the room. She caught up with them in the pantry, where Rose was just starting the washing up as Gwyneth lit a lamp. The brunette walked over to help Rose.

Gwyneth turned to see them and gasped. "Please, miss, you shouldn't be helping. It's not right."

"Don't be daft." Rose said, handing a dish to Ember to dry with a tea towel. "Sneed works you to death. How much do you get paid?"

"Eight pound a year, miss."

Rose blinked, surprised. "How much?"

"I know. I would've been happy with six."

Ember leaned over to speak quietly to Rose. "Minimum wage had to start somewhere."

Nodding, Rose let that subject go and decided to try something else. "So, did you go to school or what?"

"Of course I did. What do you think I am, an urchin?" Gwyneth replied. If she'd heard the quiet words, she chose not to comment. "I went every Sunday, nice and proper."

"What, once a week?"

"We did sums and everything. To be honest, I hated every second."

"Me too."

Ember nodded. "Where we come from, we had to go up to five times a week. Wish I only went once a week."

Gwyneth looked around to make sure they were alone. "Don't tell anyone, but one week, I didn't go and ran on the heath all on my own."

"I did plenty of that." Rose said. "I used to go down the shops with my mate Shareen. We used to go and look at boys."

"Well, I don't know much about that, miss."

"Come on, times haven't changed that much. I bet you've done the same."

"I don't think so, miss."

"Gwyneth, you can tell me. I bet you've got your eye on someone."

Gwyneth hesitated. "I suppose. There is one lad. The butchers boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him."

"I like a nice smile. Good smile, nice bum."

"Well, I have never heard the like!" Gwyneth giggled all the same.

"Ask him out. Give him a cup of tea or something, that's a start."

"I swear it is the strangest thing, miss. You've got all the clothes and the breeding, but you talk like some sort of wild thing."

Rose tilted her head. "Maybe I am. Maybe that's a good thing. You need a bit more in your life than Mister Sneed."

"Oh, now that's not fair. He's not so bad, old Sneed."

Ember frowned. "He's probably fine. It's just a little hard to see that when you get the first impression I got."

"I understand that, miss, and I'm sorry that it happened, accident or not. But he was very kind to me to take me in because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve."

Rose looked hurt. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Thank you, miss. But I'll be with them again, one day, sitting with them in paradise. I shall be so blessed. They're waiting for me. Maybe your dad's up there waiting for you too, miss."

"Maybe." It took a moment for it to click. "Um, who told you he was dead?"

Gwyneth looked uncomfortable. "I don't know. Must have been the Doctor."

"My father died years back."

"But you've been thinking about him lately more than ever."

"I suppose so. How do you know all this?"

Gwyneth hesitated again. Ember moved to her side and put her hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. Remember how I knew your name?"

"...Mister Sneed says I think too much. I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, haven't you, miss?"

Rose shook her head. "No, no servants where I'm from."

"And you've come such a long way..."

"What makes you think so?"

"You're from London." Gwyneth looked like she was seeing something far away. "I've seen London in drawings, but never like that. All those people rushing about half naked, for shame. And the noise, and the metal boxes racing past, and the birds in the sky, no, they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People are flying." She looked at Rose. "And you, you've flown so far. The things you've seen. The darkness, the big bad wolf..."

Then she looked at Ember, to the surprise of the brunette. "But you... you've come from a place further than anyone. The things _you've_ seen. But then... all that power... you could save worlds... or destroy them..."

Ember stiffened. "What do you see?"

"You've got all that power inside, but it's so... primal... Fire and water, wind and ice, the very earth shaking... the light and the dark. You're something else, something _dangerous_... something that might destroy _everything_, but the only thing stopping it is..." Gwyneth blinked, her eyes clearing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, miss..."

Rose went over and pulled the shaking woman into a hug. "It's all right."

"I can't help it. Ever since I was a little girl, my mam said I had the sight. She told me to hide it."

"But it's getting stronger," the three women turned to find the Doctor in the doorway, "more powerful, is that right?"

Gwyneth nodded. "All the time, sir. Every night, voices in my head."

"You grew up on top of the rift. You're part of it. You're the key."

"I've tried to make sense of it, sir. Consulted with spiritualists, table rappers, all sorts..."

"Well, that should help. You can show us what to do."

That made Gwyneth pause. "What to do where, sir?"

"We're going to have a séance."

Ember barely heard them talking, Gwyneth's words leaving a cold feeling up her back. What did it mean?

* * *

The group were now gathered in the living room, where a round table was set up for the séance.

"This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists, down in big town." Gwyneth said, sat at the 'head' of the table. "Come, we must all join hands."

Dickens hesitated. "I can't take part in this."

"Humbug?" The Doctor said, raising a brow at him. "Come on, open mind."

"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask. Sances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing."

"Now, don't antagonise her. I love a happy medium."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Come on, we might need you."

Ember gently took Dickens by the arm. "We _will_ need you. Please."

Dickens hesitated, but he saw something sincere in the woman's silver eyes, and sat down.

"Good man." The Doctor grinned as Ember went around the table to sit between him and Gwyneth. "Now, Gwyneth, reach out."

Gwyneth took a deep breath to prepare herself, and then she spoke. "Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits, come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden."

Rose looked around as whispers started up around then. "Can you hear that?"

"Nothing can happen." Dickens said. "This is sheer folly."

"Look at her."

"I see them. I feel them." Gwyneth murmured, staring up above as tendrils of blue light or gas drifted around them.

"What's it saying?" Rose asked, unable to understand what the whispers were saying.

The Doctor could, however. "They can't get through the rift. Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now, look deep. Allow them through."

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can. Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link."

Ember squeezed Gwyneth's hand, lowering her voice. "Maybe I can help." She closed her eyes and concentrated, using the same trick she'd done to help the Doctor to try to lend some energy. It wasn't nearly as much as she'd given the Doctor, but she hoped it was enough.

The maid lowered her head and then opened her eyes. "Yes."

The blue gas took shape behind her in the form of three humanoid shapes. Sneed stared up at them in shock. "Great God! Spirits from the other side."

"The other side of the universe." The Doctor corrected.

The figures spoke in voices that resembled children, and Gwyneth spoke with them. _"Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time. Help us."_

"What do you want us to do?"

_"The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge."_

"What for?"

_"We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction!"_

"Why, what happened?"

_"Once we had a physical form like you, but then the war came."_

Dickens blinked, puzzled. "War? What war?"

_"The Time War."_ Ember felt the Doctor's hand tighten on hers, but she couldn't break her concentration. She couldn't risk accidently giving Gwyneth too much energy. _"The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."_

"So that's why you need the corpses." The Doctor summerised.

_"We want to stand tall, to feel the sunlight, to live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste. Give them to us!"_

Rose looked horrified. "But we can't!"

"Why not?" The Doctor asked.

"It's not... I mean, it's not-"

"Not decent? Not polite? It could save their lives."

_"Open the rift. Let the Gelth through! We're dying! Help us! Pity the Gelth!"_

With a final sound, the blue gas rushed back into the nearby gas lamps. Gwyneth collapsed onto the table, unconscious. Ember let out a gasp and slumped in her chair, but remained awake.

"Gwyneth?" Rose called, getting up to go around the table to the maid's side. "Are you okay?"

"All true." Dickens murmured. "It's all true."

The Doctor turned to Ember, who was panting through her teeth with her eyes clenched shut. "Ember? You alright?"

"Could be better," the brunette ground out. "Lending energy to a human is harder than doing it to a Time Lord..."

"A Time Lord?" The Doctor blinked, puzzled. "You've lent me energy?"

"Spoilers."

* * *

A short time later, Gwyneth had been put on a chaise longue. She woke up to Rose dabbing a damp cloth on her forehead. "It's all right. You just sleep."

"But my angels, miss." The maid said. "They came, didn't they? They need me?"

"They do need you, Gwyneth." The Doctor said. He was stood beside Ember, who was sat on a chair with a shot glass of ice pressed to her temple to ease a headache. "You're they're only chance of survival."

Rose sent him a look as she grabbed a glass of water from the table to give to Gwyneth. "I've told you, leave her alone. She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles. Drink this."

"Well, what did you say, Doctor?" Sneed asked. "Explain it again. What are they?"

"Aliens." The Doctor replied.

"Like foreigners, you mean?"

"Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there."

"...Brecon?"

"Close. And they've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes."

"Which is why they need the girl." Dickens said, piecing it together.

Rose stood. "They're not having her."

"But she can help." The Doctor pointed out. "Living on the rift, she's become part of it. She can open it up, make a bridge and let them through."

"Incredible." Dickens murmured, looking thoughtful., if not a little drunk from this new discovery. "Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world, who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers."

"Good system. It might work."

Rose looked insulted. "You can't let them run around inside of dead people."

"Why not? It's like recycling."

"Seriously though, you can't!"

"Seriously though, I can."

"It's just wrong. Those bodies were living people. We should respect them even in death."

"Do you carry a donor card?"

Rose faltered. "That's different. That's-"

"It is different, yeah-"

"It's consent." Ember cut in. "If Rose has a donor card, it's because she gives permission for someone to use her heart or liver or kidneys after she's dead. These people have not said wether they'd be alright with this arrangement or not, and we shouldn't choose for them."

"Exactly!" Rose said.

"It's a different morality." The Doctor looked at Rose. "Get used to it or go home. You heard what they said, time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying."

"I don't care. They're not using her!"

Ember flinched as her head throbbed, pressing the glass against her temple again.

"Don't I get a say, miss?" Gwyneth asked.

Rise barely glanced at her. "Look, you don't understand what's going on."

"You would say that, miss, because that's very clear inside your head, that you think I'm stupid."

"That's not fair."

"It's true, though. Things might be very different where you're from, but here and now, I know my own mind, and the angels need me."

Ember raised a hand. "Gwyneth, this is ultimately your decision. But you have to know this; it could end very badly. There is a huge risk, even a chance that something bad will happen. But it is your choice."

Gwyneth looked at the Time Lords. "Doctor, what do I have to do?"

"You don't have to do anything."

"They've been singing to me since I was a child, sent by my mam on a holy mission. So tell me."

The Doctor nodded. "We need to find the rift. This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mister Sneed, what's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?"

"That would be the morgue."

"No chance you were going to say gazebo, is there?" Rose sighed.

The group, once sure that Gwyneth was up to it, went to the morgue. As they went down the steps to the basement, Ember caught the maid by the arm and pulled her back so that they were slightly behind the group.

"I know I can't talk you out of this," the brunette said. "But I want to at least warn you. Your body-"

"Won't be able to take the strain." Gwyenth said, making Ember look at her in surprise. "I'm aware of that. I don't expect to live to see this to the end."

"Then... why are you doing this?"

"Because..." Gwyneth hesitated. "Let's say it's because someone has asked me to. I'm afraid I can't tell you more than that."

She walked on, leaving Ember staring after her in confusion before following. The two of them caught up with the others before they were noticed, just as they reached the door. Sneed opened it and led them inside, revealing a cold basement where bodies were lain on tables, under white sheets.

"Urgh." The Doctor said, noticing the chill. "Talk about Bleak House."

Rose looked at him "The thing is, Doctor, the Gelth don't succeed, 'cos I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869."

"Time's in flux, changing every second. Your cozy little world can be rewritten like that." The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing."

Dickens shivered. "Doctor, I think the room is getting colder."

"Here they come." Rose said, seeing the gas lamps glowing blue. The blue then shot across the room to a stone archway on the far side, becoming more human-shaped again.

_"You've come to help."_ It spoke in those many voices again. _"Praise the Doctor. Praise him!"_

Rose stepped forward. "Promise you won't hurt her."

_"Hurry! Please, so little time. Pity the Gelth."_

Now the Doctor stepped forward. "I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, all right?"

"My angels." Gwyneth murmured. "I can help them live."

"Okay, where's the weak point?"

_"Here, beneath the arch."_

"Beneath the arch." The maid turned to give Ember one last encouraging smile before she moved forward to stand under the arch.

Rose still didn't look comfortable with this. "You don't have to do this."

"My angels..."

_"Establish the bridge. Reach out to the void. Let us through!"_

"Yes, I can see you. I can see you. Come!"

_"Bridgehead establishing!"_

"Come to me. Come to this world, poor lost souls!"

_"It is begun. The bridge is made!"_ Gwyneth, eyes turning glazed, opened her mouth, blue gas coming out.

Sneed looked uncomfortable. "Rather a lot of them, eh?"

_"She has given herself to the Gelth. The bridge is open. We descend."_

The Doctor felt Ember tense and swear under her breath beside him, but before he could ask what was wrong, the blue form changed to an angry red with sharp teeth.

_"The Gelth will come through in force!"_ The voice was no longer childlike, but deeper and more menacing.

"You said that you were few in number!" Dickens cried, stepping back in fear.

_"A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses!"_ The gas shot to the dead bodies, which began to get up and pull the sheets off.

"Gwyneth, stop this!" Sneed said, stepping forward. "Listen to your master! This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, and leave these things alone, I beg of you-"

"Mister Sneed, get back!" Rose called.

But she was too late. A corpse had come up behind Sneed and in one quick move snapped the man's neck. He'd barely hit the floor before a Gelth entered his mouth, and he slowly began to rise.

"I think it's gone a little bit wrong." The Doctor said, pulling Rose and Ember behind him.

Ember sent him a look. "You think?!"

_"I have joined the legions of the Gelth."_ Sneed now said. _"Come, march with us."_

Dickens looked white as a sheet. "Oh, glory..."

_"We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead!"_

The Doctor looked at Gwyneth. "Gwyneth, stop them! Send them back now!"

The woman didn't show any sign that she'd heard him. The Gelth spoke again._ "Four more bodies. Convert them. Make them vessels for the Gelth."_

Sneed and the other bodies surrounded the Doctor, Rose and Ember, backing them up again a metal gate on the other side of the room.

Dickens was lucky enough to be closer to the stairs. "Doctor, I can't... I'm sorry. This new world of yours is too much for me. I'm so-"

"Just run!" Ember yelled at the author. "Get out! Keep your eyes open!"

Dickens did just that as the remaining three got behind the metal gate, closing it and then going to the wall beyond. There was no way out, but there was enough room for them to be too far for the corpses to reach them.

_"Give yourself to glory."_ The Gelth said, their arms reaching between the bars but unable to touch their targets. _"Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth!"_

"I trusted you," The Doctor snapped. "I pitied you!"

_"We don't want your pity. We want this world and all it's flesh."_

"Not while I'm alive."

_"Then live no more!"_

Ember felt her temper flare up not just at the fact that these creatures had taken advantage of the Doctor's pity, but at the threat to his life. "You'll have to go through me first if you want them!"

_"Then we shall."_

Rose shook her head, eyes wide and fearful. "But I can't die. Tell me I can't. I haven't even been born yet. It's impossible for me to die. Isn't it?"

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said.

"But it's 1869. How can I die now?"

"Time isn't a straight line. It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the twentieth century and die in the nineteenth and it's all my fault. I brought you here."

"It's not your fault." Rose gave a tense smile. "I wanted to come."

The Doctor saw it and tried to joke. "What about me? I saw the fall of Troy, World War Five. I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party. Now I'm going to die in a dungeon... in Cardiff!"

"Oh, would you rather die somewhere else?" Ember added sarcastically, trying not to let the anger overtake her like it almost did with River.

"It's not just dying." Rose pointed out. "We'll become one of them." She took a breath. "We'll go down fighting, yeah?

"Yeah."

"Together?"

"Yeah." The Doctor took both their hands.

The brunette shook her head. "We're not dying here. Our ace card is about to come into play any second now."

The Doctor looked at the girls. "I'm so glad I met you. Both of you."

"Me too." Rose added.

Ember winced as her head throbbed, closing her eyes as a vision claimed her...

_Rose and Dickens were gone. The Doctor was trying to talk Gwyneth into giving him the matches. But he took too long. Gwyneth lost her control, and the Gelth escaped in full force..._

"Doctor! Doctor!" Dickens could be heard before he reappeared in the room, unwittingly bringing Ember back from her vision. "Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now, fill the room, all of it, now!"

"What're you doing?" The Doctor asked.

"Turn it all on. Flood the place!"

Now the Doctor caught on. "Brilliant. Gas!"

"What, so we choke to death instead?" Rose said.

Dickens was covering his mouth with a handkerchief. "Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous."

"Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host." The Doctor explained. "Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!"

The corpses abandoned their attack on the Doctor and the girls, shambling toward the stairs and Dickens. "I hope, oh Lord, I hope that this theory will be validated soon, if not immediately."

The Doctor felt Ember shift, and looked to find she was pulling on a pipe fixed to the wall. He quickly moved to help her. "Plenty more!"

Almost as soon as they'd ripped the pipe from the wall, the blue gas left the corpses and went into the air.

"It's working!" Dickens said, coughing slightly.

The Doctor pushed open the gate and ran over to where Gwyneth was still standing in the arch. "Gwyneth, send them back! They lied, they're not angels!"

"...Liars?" Gwyneth murmured, her eyes still glassy.

"Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!"

Rose coughed roughly. "I can't breathe."

"Charles, get her out!"

"I'm not leaving her!"

Gwyneth looked conflicted. "They're too strong..."

"Remember that world you saw?" The Doctor said. "Rose's world? All those people. None of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift."

"I can't send them back. But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here." The maid reached into her apron and pulled out a small box of matches. "Get out."

Rose saw it and tried to stop her, but the Doctor stopped her. "You can't!"

"Leave this place!"

"Rose, Ember, get out." The Doctor made her look at him. "Go now. I won't leave her while she's still in danger. Now go!"

Dickens took Rose and Ember by the hand, pulling them along. Ember let him lead her until they were in the hallway leading out before she pulled her hand free.

"Go! I'm going back for them!" She said, turning and running before either of them could grab her. "Trust me!"

She waited until they'd left before she turned into another room, closing the door just enough for her to be able to peek out. She held her breath for a few tense seconds before she saw the Doctor rush past, and made sure he wouldn't see her when she left the room and went back the way he'd come, returning to the morgue.

The Gelth were still there, and so was Gwyneth. To Ember's surprise, the maid put the matches back in her pocket.

"I knew you'd come back," she said, a tiny smile on her lips. "The Great Fire, Mother of Elements. He told me you'd come back."

That made the brunette pause. "He? Who's he? Who told you?"

"A man in red, his face hidden. He asked me to guide you here."

Ember knew who she was talking about; the same red-cloaked man that would occasionally appear to speak to her. She hadn't seen him since Canary Wharf. "But why?"

"He did not say. But he warned me that you needed to be here. You know what must be done now."

Ember took a breath - difficult thanks to the gas - and nodded. "I hope you find peace." She turned her eyes to the fiery red Gelth above the maid, her gaze hardening. "You took advantage of the Doctor's pity. You used him, and Gwyneth. Now you're gonna pay for it."

The Gelth looked uncomfortable, but was unable to stop her.

"You know the phrase 'there's no smoke without fire'? Well, consider yourselves the smoke. Say hello to the Fire."

Ember closed her eyes, concentrating hard. All she needed was a spark, but her anger made the whole room go alight...

* * *

The Doctor ran out of the front door and into the street, where Rose and Dickens were waiting a short distance away.

"Where's Ember?" Rose asked as they ran up to him.

"What?" The Doctor took a quick look around, finding no sign of the brunette. "She was with you!"

Dickens shook his head. "She turned back to find you and the girl. Did you not see her?"

The Doctor turned to look at the building with wide eyes. He was about to run back in, when the whole house burst into flames, the force strong enough to send them all to the ground.

"Oh my god!" Rose gasped as she got to her feet. "They're in there!"

"She closed the rift." The Doctor murmured, though it wasn't clear who he was talking about.

"At such a cost." Dickens added. "The poor girls..."

The Doctor looked at Rose. "Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least five minutes."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch."

"But she can't have. She spoke to us. She helped us. She saved us. How could she have done that?"

Dickens shook his head again. "There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Even for you, Doctor."

Rose looked at the burning building. "She saved the world. A servant girl. No one will ever know. And Ember... she went back in there..."

"But why?" Dickens sighed as the Doctor and Rose looked away from the wreckage, but because he was still facing it, he caught sight of something moving among the flames. His eyes widened. "Good God in Heaven! Look!"

Rose and the Doctor turned to look back, only to be as surprised as the author as a humanoid shape appeared at the remains of the front door, coughing harshly.

There, clothes burnt and singed, stood Ember. Her denim jacket had more burn marks on it, but it was still wearable. Her jeans, however, were in less than good condition, as the left leg from knee to ankle was almost completely gone. She had soot or dirt covering her skin, and she looked wobbly as she stumbled out of the doorframe and dropped to her knees in the snow a few steps away.

The Doctor recovered first, running to her side and going onto a knee as he grabbed her left arm to help her stay upright. "Ember! Are you alright?"

"I just... blew up a building with me in it," the brunette replied, pausing for a gasp of air. "What do you think?" She winced as her head throbbed. "Ow. Overdone it a bit, but they deserved it."

"Why did you go back in there?" Rose asked.

"Because I had a vision. She couldn't hold on, couldn't light a match in time. The Gelth would have won. They already killed her."

At Rose's puzzled look, the Doctor explained. "She sometimes has visions of when something goes wrong. When that happens, she has to do something to make it right."

"Good Lord," Dickens murmured, reminding them that he was there. "You survived that? What are you?"

Ember let out a sound that was between a laugh and a cough. "When I figure that out, I'll let you know. But if you don't mind, I think I'm gonna nap now..."

That was the only warning they got before she slumped forward, unconscious as the Doctor grabbed her.

* * *

_She didn't seem to have a body, but that didn't stop her from looking out into the expanse of space before her. Stars glittered, a nearby nebula looking younger than she'd ever seen before. Colours swirled, making her feel a sense of accomplishment but not knowing why._

_"If only they could appreciate this as much as I do," she thought to herself. "But they are so blind..."_

* * *

When Ember woke next, she was in her room in the Tardis. To her surprise, her jacket and shoes had been removed and her face and hands were clean of soot. She'd been lain on top of her bed with a throw blanket tucked around her.

Slowly sitting up, the brunette let the blanket pool on her lap as she put a hand to her head. It was no longer throbbing with pain, but she felt drowsy. "Ugh. Wonder if anyone got the number for that truck..."

"Probably more like the building exploding on you."

Ember looked up and saw the Doctor stood in the doorway of her room, a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. "Hi."

The Doctor entered the room, placing the tea and the book on the bedside table. "How are you feeling?"

"Rough."

"Well, that's not surprising, considering what you did. Which was dangerous, by the way."

Ember rolled her eyes as she moved to put her feet on the floor, pushing the blanket away. "It's not like I had the time to explain what was going on."

"You could have warned me, at least." The Doctor gave her a pained look. "I thought... we'd lost you."

That made Ember look at him. She'd forgotten that this early in the Doctor's timeline, the wounds from the Time War was still raw. "I'm sorry. But there really wasn't time to explain. And I wasn't sure if you'd let me stay there to blow them up. Between the visions and the dreams, it's a lot to deal with at once..."

The Doctor, who'd gone over to the chest of drawers to retrieve an intact, light blue pair of jeans and a red, long sleeved top, paused and turned to look at her. "Dreams? You didn't tell me you had more dreams."

"No time, remember?" Ember shook her head. "I've only had them a few times now, all after I got this scar. They don't even make sense half the time."

"I could take a look, if you want."

Ember blinked before she realised what he was suggesting. "You mean the mind meld thing?"

"Yes, the mind meld thing." There was a friendly eye roll sent her way. "Anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a wall in front of it."

"That's a lot to put behind a wall, you know." Ember thought about it for a moment, but then she sighed. "I guess it couldn't hurt to try. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes will spot something I didn't."

The Doctor moved closer, putting his hands on either side of her head with two fingers on each temple. He closed his eyes and concentrated, stepping into Ember's mind as she closed her eyes as well.

As she'd warned, most of her mind was behind a mental wall; one much stronger than he expected her to come up with. If he got too close to the wall, he could 'feel' heat radiating off it, so he tried to keep away from it.

He felt Ember push the memory of the dreams, as well as the ones she'd had where it was only voices, within his reach, but when he tried to 'see' them for himself, a wall of fire suddenly sprung up in front of him. Before he could react, an unseen force shoved him out, back to himself with such force that his physical body stumbled back like she'd shoved him.

Ember gasped and opened her eyes. "Are you alright?"

The Doctor shook his head slightly. "I'm fine. Whatever you're doing to protect yourself is stronger than anything I've ever encountered."

"But... I tried to let you see..."

"Then it's your subconscious. Your mind is full of things even I shouldn't look at, so your subconscious is doing everything it can to keep out anyone who tries to look where they shouldn't. It won't be just me; anyone who tries will most likely get the boot."

Ember pulled herself to her feet with a huff. "Great. And I shouldn't be surprised: I've already had one twit trying to get in there and she got the boot."

The Doctor tilted his head. "Who?"

"Sorry, spoilers." The brunette took the clothes from his hands. "Ugh, this is ridiculous. Every time I think I get an answer, someone changes the damn questions, sometimes even the rules."

"Welcome to my world," The Doctor joked, turning to leave the room. "I'll give you a minute."

Ember shook her head, spying a screen in the corner that she was sure wasn't in the room before. "It's alright, I can use this. Just don't peek."

The Doctor rolled his eyes again, but moved to sit on the edge of her bed as she opened the screen and got behind it to change. He did, however, make sure his back was facing the screen even if he couldn't see through it. "Not bothered about privacy, then?"

"It's a two way street. Here's a spoiler; you have a habit of not caring who's in the room when you change. I don't mind as long as there's a screen."

"Well, it comes from being a member of a race that goes through bodies like a new season's wardrobe. I know not many others are comfortable with it."

Ember let out a laugh as she tossed her ruined jeans aside. "You don't give that impression in future, just do you know."

"Thanks for the heads up."

The next minute or so went in silence as Ember finished changing, stepping out from behind the screen now dressed in the red top and light blue jeans. She spotted her denim jacket hanging from the back of the desk chair and grabbed it, frowning at the new burn marks and singes on it. "Surprised this didn't get ruined."

"You told me once that it's your favourite." The Doctor replied, shifting to face her. "Maybe you subconsciously stop yourself from burning it too much."

"Maybe. Guess the singes give it character." Ember smiled, but then it fell when she felt a familiar burning sensation. "Oh, now? Really?"

The Doctor smiled sadly. He wasn't happy that she was leaving before he'd had the chance to properly check her health, but they didn't have the luxury of choice. "See you soon."

It was a split second before she jumped that Ember realised that she was without shoes, but was too late to do anything about it.

* * *

Ok, there we are! A little disappointed with how I ended it, but I couldn't seem to get it right even after several times going over it. Hope it's good enough though.

Next Time: Ember finally has a chance to practice her newest ability when she and the Doctor face the risk of drowning.


	7. Chapter Seven: Under The Lake

And here's the next one! And it's a two-parter, so you'll get the second part on either Wednesday or Thursday. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Seven: Under The Lake

* * *

Ember grumbled as she regained her footing from the jump. She'd jumped without shoes, but she could at least be thankful that she'd been able to change beforehand.

Looking around, the brunette found herself in what looked like a cafeteria or mess hall. There was a mural on the wall depicting a serpent or dragon-like creature attacking a small boat with people in it. The people wore clothing that Ember found familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen it before.

The hall was in disarray, like a fight had happened. Chairs were overturned, food spilled onto the floor, and there was even a large knife stuck in the wall like someone had thrown it there.

"Looks like I missed the party," Ember murmured, turning to the other wall where a large window gave a view outside of what might have been a village. It probably would have been nice if it wasn't underwater.

That made the brunette pause. Underwater village? Why was that familiar? Then it clicked, and Ember paled.

"Oh crap!" She turned and ran to the door, into a long corridor, then another, until eventually she reached an open door to what looked like a hanger. The only ship in it was a small craft that looked to be a cross between the Thunderbird Four and a Star Trek space shuttle, with the back of it lowered like a ramp to lead inside.

Ember ran to the steps of the ramp and looked inside, careful not to look in a certain direction, and quickly saw the Twelth Doctor and Clara looking at where she wasn't. "No, don't look at that!"

They both looked her way at her shout, puzzled, and then the Doctor spoke as he took a step towards her. "What's wrong?"

Ember didn't get the chance to answer, as there was a hissing sound behind her. They all turned to see two people stood near the wall where tools were stationed. One of them was male, wearing what looked like a Victorian suit with a top hat. His face looked slightly different from a human; it reminded Ember of Gibbis. The other one was also male was tall, bald and well built. They were slightly see-through, like ghosts, and both of them had black holes where their eyes should have been.

"Hey, look, they're back." Clara said, moving to the steps.

The Doctor followed. "Hello! Did you want to show us this? It's very nice."

"Wait, are they saying something?" Clara asked, only to blink as the well-built man turned and took a fire axe from the wall, but it was too heavy for him to hold up, instead dragging it on the floor. "Okay, they now appear to be arming themselves."

"Yes, I spotted that, too." The Doctor said, moving so that he was in front of Ember as the other ghost picked up what looked like a harpoon gun. "Was it something she said? She does that. She once had an argument with Gandhi!"

The first ghost swung the axe clumsily and missed, and Ember pulled the Doctor by the back of his jacket. "Yeah, not friendly ghosts anymore!"

"I'm starting to see why the crew did a runner." Clara murmured as they back up, dodging as the harpoon gun was fired at them. "Run?"

"You think?!" Ember snapped at her as she grabbed them both by the hand and pulled, only letting go when she was sure they were following. She led them out of the hanger and closed the door. "Okay, they can chase us but they can't bring the weapons through the walls."

Clara looked at her, puzzled, but before she could ask, a ghostly hand came through the wall right next to her, making her cry out and jump away. The well-built man emerged from the wall as the other one came up from the floor behind the trio. "Ember, can you make them go away?"

"I'm not an exorcist!" The brunette pushed them to run down another corridor.

The sound of a door opening made them look to see that one had opened at the end of the corridor, and a woman was leaning out of it and waving them over. "In here! Quick!"

Ember made sure the Doctor and Clara got in first before she followed, closing the door behind her. She leaned against it for a moment, catching her breath, only for it to hitch as the Doctor moved behind her, almost pressing against her back, and she looked up to join him in looking through the round window of the door. The ghosts were looking back at them, mouthing something.

"What _are_ you?" The Doctor asked, but the ghosts simply turned and walked away. Ember was able to duck under his arm so that she could see the other occupants of the room. There were five of them; three men and two women. They all wore khaki brown coats and vests, except for one of the men who was wearing a blue polo shirt.

Polo shirt was the one who spoke first. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

The Doctor turned and whipped out the Psychic Paper, showing it to the five. "This is Clara, that's Ember and I'm the Doctor."

"You're from UNIT."

"Well, if that's what it says..."

"I'm Pritchard," Polo short said, then pointed to the one of the other men, who wore glasses and looked nervous. "This is Bennett."

"O'Donnell!" The younger of the two woman stepped forward with a wide grin, taking the Doctor's hand and shaking it enthusiastically. Her brown cap had her name sewn on the front. "Are you really the Doctor? I'm a huge fan!"

Ember had smiled at the praise, only to blink when the woman turned to face her next, grabbing her hand the same way she'd done to the Doctor. "And you! Oh, it's an honour! The Great Fire herself!" She paused as she took in the expressions on everyone's faces, which varied from surprised to resigned. "I mean, uh, you know... Nice work."

She stepped back, allowing the other young man to speak next, gesturing to the other woman too. "Tim Lunn, I sign for Cass."

"Tell me, what about those things out there?" The Doctor asked. "What are they? Why are they trying to kill us?"

"Well, they're, uh, they're ghosts."

"They're not ghosts."

Ember took hold of the Doctor's sleeve to get his attention. "We're not on a rift, and there isn't a pocket universe next door."

The Doctor nodded, looking at her. "Dickens?"

"Yeah."

"Figured as much. You're not wearing shoes."

The older woman - Cass - started signing, and Lunn began to translate. "Cass is saying-"

"Thank you, but I actually don't need your help. I can speak sign." The Doctor waved him off before facing Cass, and made an exaggerated gesture. "Go ahead."

Cass's puzzled look already told them she hadn't understood the sign, but she shook her head and proceeded to repeat what she'd signed earlier.

Ember blinked, puzzled. While she already knew what was being said, she hadn't expected to actually understand the sign language. But to her surprise, it was clear to her what was being said even if she hadn't already known.

The Doctor, however, wasn't as lucky, as he shook his head a moment later. "No, no, actually, I can't. It's been deleted for semaphore. Someone get me a selection of flags."

"She's talking about the tall bald guy with the fire axe. He was their commanding officer." Ember said, making everyone look at her. She blushed. "Sorry. Apparently I can understand sign language, which is a surprise."

Cass nodded, and then continued. Lunn translated. "The other, um... moley guy, we don't know what he is."

"He's from the planet Tivoli." The Doctor explained.

Bennet nodded. "See? I told you he was an alien. Didn't I say that?"

"Weird thing is, they're not violent. They're too cowardly. They wouldn't say boo to a goose. They're more likely to give the goose their car keys and bank details. When did they first appear?"

"Oh, did you see that spaceship in the hangar?" O'Donnell asked. "Yeah, we found that on the lake bed and we'd just got it on board and one of the engines started up and then Moran got..." she hesitated. "Moran was killed."

"Then they appeared and pretty much straight away started trying to kill us." Lunn said in Cass's stead. "So we grabbed what we could and we were looking for somewhere to hide, and that's when we realised the ghosts couldn't come in here."

Clara looked up at ceiling of the small but tall room they were in. "What is this place?"

"It's a Faraday cage." The Doctor replied. "Completely impenetrable to radio waves, and apparently, whatever those things are out there. So, who's in charge now? I need to know who to ignore."

"That would be me." Lunn said, then pointed to Cass. "Her."

Pritchard stepped forward, handing the Doctor a small card with his details on it. "Actually, that would be me. I represent Vector Petroleum. We've obtained the mining rights to the oil."

The Doctor barely looked at the card before he tossed it aside, ignoring Pritchard as the man scrambled to retrieve it. "The oil? Where are we?"

"This used to be a military training site." Bennet said. "There was a dam overlooking it, but the dam burst and the valley was submerged."

"Then twenty years ago, we discovered a massive oil reservoir underneath it." Pritchard added once he got his card back.

Before anyone could answer, a computerised voice spoke from speaker around them, along with the lights brightening slightly. _"Good morning. Entering day mode."_

O'Donnell let out a breath. "Okay, it's morning. We can go outside now."

"Thank God for that." Lunn said.

Pritchard nodded. "At last, we can get out of here."

Clara tilted her head. "Morning?"

"Yeah, we're too far below the surface for daylight," Bennet explained as he took a towel from a hook, "so we have to demarcate artificial days and nights."

The Doctor turned to O'Donnell as she opened the door. "I'd like to have a further look at that spaceship, but what about those things that aren't ghosts?"

"Oh, it's all right. They only come out at night."

"Weird how that is not comforting." Clara muttered. Ember tried to send her a reassuring smile.

The group walked back down the corridor to the main hanger, the Doctor leading the way. "If whatever they are-"

"They're ghosts." Pritchard insisted.

"They're not ghosts. Have been trying to kill you, why haven't you abandoned the base?"

"That was my call. We've got about a trillion dollars worth of mining equipment here. We're not just going to abandon it-What?" Pritchard frowned at the unimpressed looks from the trio. "If it all goes pear-shaped, it's not _them_ that lose a bonus."

"No, but I'm pretty sure they'd prefer getting a scolding over getting killed," Ember pointed out.

The Doctor gave the man a look that feigned sympathetic. "It's okay. I understand. You're an idiot. Come to mention it, why is there a Faraday cage on the base?"

"It's the mining equipment." Bennet replied. "It runs on nuclear fission. The Faraday cage has been lined with lead to act as a shelter in the event of a radiation leak."

"So, we are fighting an unknown homicidal force that has taken the form of your commanding officer and a cowardly alien, underwater, in a nuclear reactor." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Anything else I should know? Someone got a peanut allergy, or something?"

He went into the spaceship, followed by Clara. Ember opted to stay by the ramp, purposely avoiding looking at the symbols on the wall.

"It all started with this ship. This is where the answer will be." The Doctor mused as he looked at the floor, seeing two squares etched into it; one big enough to encircle a coffin and the other big enough for a suitcase. He knelt by the smaller one and lifted it, revealing a panel and what could have been the equivalent of a battery pack underneath, though one of the 'batteries' was missing. He stood and looked at the others, who were watching from the ramp. "What's happened to the stuff you've removed? This is for long-haul flights. There should be a suspended-animation chamber for the pilot right here. Plus, one of the power cells is missing."

"Power cell?" Pritchard asked, going up the steps. Bennet and O'Donnell followed to look as well.

"Yeah. You can see the casing is empty."

Lunn sighed as Cass signed angrily at him. "Why not?"

"Because she's right," Ember cut in, having heard them and already knowing what the discussion was about. "It's dangerous. None of you should have been looking in there to start with. The less people who look, the better."

Cass turned to her, looking puzzled, before she signed. _What makes you say that?_

"Think hard. When they started attacking, were they going for all of you?"

That made both of them looked thoughtful, and then Cass turned to Lunn and signed again. _I told you. It isn't safe in there._

"It's not safe out here!" Lunn said, his voice raising slightly.

Clara noticed. "What's the matter?"

Lunn turned to her. "She won't let me look inside the spaceship. She says it's not safe. I'm saying it's not safe out here."

"I imagine they're pretty valuable..." Pritchard muttered.

The Doctor heard him and frowned. "What?"

Pritchard corrected himself. "I mean powerful. Those power cells. I imagine they're pretty powerful."

"Well, they can zap a vessel from one side of the galaxy to the other, so, you know, take a wild stab in the dark."

"And the missing one must still be out there."

"Yes, well, otherwise... Sorry, why is this man still talking to me?"

O'Donnell looked at him as Pritchard went to the ramp. "We haven't removed anything. There hasn't been time."

The Doctor looked at Ember, who nodded, and then he moved to the steps. "She's telling the truth, Doctor. The chamber and the cell were already missing by the time they found this ship. We'll find out why later."

Pritchard made to leave, but was surprised when Ember grabbed his arm. The look in her eye halted his tongue before he could speak, as she did instead. "Don't let greed cloud your judgement. Your life isn't worth any amount of money."

The man looked at her for a moment, and then pulled his arm out of her grasp and walked out of the hanger. Ember sighed through her nose before she turned as the Doctor put a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?" He asked. Ember nodded, gesturing to the rest of the group with her head. He took the hint and turned to face them. "So what have we got? Moran dies, and then those things appear. They can walk through walls. They only come out at night and they're sort of see-through."

"Doctor, wait," Clara said, "you're not saying..."

Ember felt a shiver go through her and tugged on the Doctor's sleeve. "Cold in here. We should move. If they come back, this'll be the first place they'll go."

Nodding, the Doctor took charge. "Bridge, anyone?"

* * *

It was only a short walk through the halls to get to the Bridge, where there were computer stations, control panels on walls and a large, illuminated map of the base on the far wall.

"They're ghosts!" The Doctor declared once everyone was inside. "Yeah, ghosts-"

"You said there was no such thing." Clara said. "You actually pooh-poohed the ghost theory."

Ember tilted her head at the choice of words, but Clara just shrugged.

"Yes, well, well, there was no such thing as, as socks or smartphones and badgers until there suddenly were. Besides, what else could they be? They're not holograms, they're not Flesh Avatars, they're not Autons, they're not digital copies bouncing around the Nethersphere." The Doctor was almost excited. "No, these people are literally, actually, dead. Wow. This is... it's amazing! I've never actually met a proper ghost."

Lunn saw Cass sign and translated. "Moran was our friend."

Clara moved to the Doctor's side, lowering her voice. "The cards."

"Oh! Oh, right you are." The Doctor turned so that his back was to them, pulling out a small pile of cards from his pocket. Ember didn't bother trying to look at the individual cards.

"Oh, come here." Clara took the cards from him and flicked through them before she found one and handed it to the Doctor, who then turned to face the rest of the group.

"Ahem." He read from the card. "I'm very sorry for your loss. I'll do all I can to solve the death of your friend, slash family member, slash pet."

Everyone looked at him in confusion. Clara took the card back and gave him another unimpressed look.

"But don't you see what this means?" The Doctor asked. "Death! It was the one thing that unified every single living creature in the universe, and now it's gone. How can you just sit there? Don't you want to go out there right now, wrestle them to the ground and ask them questions until your throat falls out? What's death like? Does it hurt? Do you still get hungry? Do you miss being alive? Why can you only handle metal objects?" He paused, looking at Ember. "Oh, I didn't know I'd noticed that. You pointed out that they can't carry objects through walls. Okay, so they'll try to kill you, blah, blah, blah. What does that matter? You come back. A bit murder-y, sure, but even so!" He took a breath. "Calm, Doctor, calm. You were like this when you met Shirley Bassey. Okay. Question one. What is a ghost? Question two. What do they want?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "There are many ways to explain ghosts, but there's no time to brainstorm."

The group looked at her, but before any of them could ask her to clarify, the lights dimmed.

"Whoa." O'Donnell said, looking around. "Whoa, what's happening?"

_"Good evening."_ The computerised voice said. _"Entering night mode."_

"That's not right. We're switching back into night mode again. This can't happen! No, no, no!" O'Donnell ran over to one of the computers.

Ember took off, able to get out of the doors before the familiar sound of the Cloister Bell could be heard. Barely seconds later, she could hear the Doctor and Clara running after her. Because she had a slightly slower pace, the two caught up to her as she reached the Tardis, snapping her fingers without thinking, and the doors opened, allowing the three of them inside.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Clara asked.

The Doctor ran around the console. "It must be the ghosts. That's why she was upset when we got here."

Ember could hear them talking, but for some reason, the sound of the Cloister Bell felt more important. It _was_ important, and familiar. But why? Why was it so important?

Suddenly, the Cloister Bell stopped ringing, and everything went quiet. Ember hadn't realised that she'd grabbed the console in a death grip.

"Put the handbrake on." The Doctor's voice brought out of her thoughts, and she looked up in time to see Clara take off her jacket and head for the door. "Whoa! Ho, ho, ho, ho! Where do you think you're going?"

Clara looked at him. "Out there, where the action is."

"Look, you, uh..."

"What?"

"Oh, this is my own fault. I like adventures as much as the next man. If the next man is a man who likes adventures. Even so, don't, don't go native."

Clara paused, a puzzled expression on her face. "What do you mean? I'm not."

"Look, there's a whole dimension in here, but there's only room for one _me_."

Ember slowly pried her fingers away from the console, turning to face the two. They didn't notice her move.

"Wait, wait a second." Clara stepped toward the Doctor. "You just raved about ghosts like a kid who had too much sherbet."

"And you curbed him before he got carried away." Ember pointed out. "He meant don't act like him."

The Doctor sighed. "Do you know what you need? You need a hobby."

"I really don't." Clara said.

"Or even better, another relationship. Come on, you lot, you're bananas about relationships. You're always writing songs about them, or going to war, or getting tattooed-"

"Doctor, I'm fine. Ember helped me with that."

That made the brunette pause. How did she help?

The Doctor looked uncomfortable. "I just felt that I, I, I had to say something."

Clara took a breath and nodded. "I know. And I appreciated it."

"Because I've got a duty of care."

"Which you take very seriously, I know."

"...So can I stop now?"

"Please." Clara smiled. "Please do."

The Doctor turned to Ember, noticing her posture. "Are you alright?"

"I think so." The brunette murmured, looking up at the ceiling. "It's just... the bells..."

"What about them?"

"... I don't know... it's like..." Ember paused. "It's like when you've dreamt something, but the longer you're awake, the more it fades..."

Nodding, the Doctor put his arm around her shoulders, leading her towards the doors. Just as they left, Ember could hear the Tardis make a groaning sound, but was then distracted by O'Donnell's voice over the speakers.

_"Attention, all crew. The Drum has switched to Night Mode early so grab provisions and make your way to the Faraday cage."_

The trio agreed to split up; Ember and Clara going to help gather provisions while the Doctor went back to the Bridge to see if he could help change the settings back to Day Mode. The girls ended up in the Mess Hall with Bennet, grabbing what food they could carry.

_"Pritchard, you are unaccounted for._" O'Donnell spoke again, and Ember froze. _"Contact the bridge or get to the Faraday cage immediately. Pritchard, contact the bridge or get to the Faraday cage!"_

"I'd love to work for UNIT, Earth's first line of defence, and all." Bennet was saying, oblivious to Ember's tense form. "I'm probably not suited, though. Not much of a fighter. More of a bleeder."

Clara saw that Ember had stopped, and was about to ask her if she was okay when she saw what the brunette was looking at; a figure in a yellow suit standing a few feet away, back turned. "Pritchard! Where you have you been? Everyone's been looking for you. What's with the wet suit?"

"Yeah, where have you been?" Bennet moved to a comm unit on the wall and spoke into it. "O'Donnell, it's okay. Pritchard's in here!"

"Pritchard, you moron! Grab your stuff, we're locking down early."

Clara stepped forward, about to approach the figure, when Ember grabbed her arm. She looked at the brunette, finding her glaring daggers at the figure. "Is he all right?"

A soft bump made her look behind them, and her eyes widened. There was another person outside the window, floating in the water and wearing the exact same suit.

"Man overboard." Bennet gasped. "Man overboard! We need a rescue team in the water now!"

Clara saw the face on the floating body and paled. "Bennett, wait! It's Pritchard."

They both turned to look at the figure in the room with them, just as it turned around to reveal himself as Pritchard, but there were black holes where the eyes should have been.

"Damn it, he got greedy!" Ember muttered as the door to the mess hall opened and in ran the Doctor, Cass and Lunn.

"He's a ghost." Clara breathed. "He's another ghost."

The ghostly form of Pritchard picked up one of the canteen chairs and began to approach them. Ember moved so that she was in front of the group and threw out her hand, setting the chair on fire. Unfortunately, that did not bother the ghost at all, as he continued to advance with a now flaming weapon.

"Okay, ghosts aren't afraid of fire," She said, backing up slightly, before she raised her eyes to where a small camera was pointed at them. "Now would be a good time to turn the lights on, O'Donnell!"

Just as Pritchard raised the chair to strike them, the lights brightened. The ghost disappeared, the flaming chair clattering to the floor, as the computer spoke. _"Good morning. Entering day mode."_

Bennet moved to grab a nearby fire extinguisher when Ember stopped him. "I'll deal with that. My fault, after all."

To the amazement of most of the onlookers, Ember reached out a hand and then clenched it into a fist. The flames engulfing the chair were immediately snuffed out.

"How did you do that?" Bennet asked.

Ember shrugged one shoulder. "Practice. One of my nicknames is 'The Great Fire'. You just saw why."

The Doctor moved to stand behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "UNIT is proud and lucky to have her on their side. Now, we should go. I need to see what happened to Pritchard."

* * *

Back in the bridge, the group watched the CCTV of what had happened to Pritchard; how the ghost of Moran had flooded the airlock with the other man in it, drowning him before he could reach the helmet of his suit.

"They're working out how to use the base against us." The Doctor mused. "Altering the time settings so they can go about uninhibited, opening the airlocks. They're learning."

"And now there's three of them." Clara added.

Bennet turned to their default leader. "Cass, what do we do?"

The woman signed, translated by Lunn. "We abandon the base. Topside can send down a whole team of marines or ghost-busters or whatever."

The Doctor didn't look happy about that. "Wait, wait..."

Cass stormed up to him and signed angrily. "I can't force you to leave, so you can stay and do the whole cabin in the woods thing and get killed or drowned, if you want. But my first priority is to protect my crew."

"But we're coming back, aren't we?" Clara whispered as the deaf woman turned away.

"Yes, we're coming back." The Doctor whispered back.

Cass turned to O'Donnell and signed, Lunn speaking again. "O'Donnell, contact Topside. Tell them we're abandoning the base on my orders."

Nodding, the young woman turned to one of the computer consoles and flicked some switches before she spoke into a radio. "Topside, Topside, this is Lance Corporal Alice O'Donnell from Drum Control. Over."

_"Drum Control, this is Topside."_ A voice replied._ "We have received your message. Submarine on its way. Over."_

"Repeat, Topside. Over."

_"We've received your request for a rescue sub. It's two minutes away. Over."_

O'Donnell glanced at the group before she spoke again. "Topside, who did you speak to and when was this request made? Over."

_"Drum Control, it was in Morse code and arrived maybe half an hour ago. Said it was urgent, comms were down, two crew members critically ill, full paramedic team requested. Over."_

"No voices," Ember muttered.

The Doctor was the only one who heard her, and then he reached over and snatched O'Donnell's handset off her. "Topside, this is the Doctor, UNIT security visa seven one zero Apple zero zero. You may be familiar with my work. Call back the sub."

_"Doctor? Why would-"_

"Call it back! We have a hazardous and undefined contagion on board. This base is now under quarantine." He put the handset down before there was a reply.

The crew looked at him in surprise, but it was Bennet who voiced their confusion. "What did you do that for?"

"Well, none of us sent the message, did we?" The Doctor pointed out. "So that means that the ghosts sent it, which means they want that crew down here."

"Why would they do that?" Lunn asked.

Ember knew that the Doctor was going to make a snarky remark, so she cut in before he could speak. "More people down here means more living bodies, which means more potential ghosts for them."

The Doctor pointed at her and nodded. "Exactly. Okay. We solve this on our own. The ghosts can only come out at night so they change the base's time settings. Why? What's different at night?"

"It's mainly atmospheric." O'Donnell replied. "The lights are dim, the noise from the engines is muffled."

"No. Something, something else."

Cass signed, Lunn spoke. "The diagnostic sweep. When the systems are checked, that stops at night to save power."

"What systems specifically?"

"Life support, the locks." O'Donnell said. "They're electromagnetic. They have to be secured in case of flooding, so throughout the day, they're checked, one by one, every few seconds."

"The answer is in there somewhere, I can smell it." The Doctor looked at Ember. "Any hints?"

"Ghosts were thought to be detected by electromagnetic equipment." The brunette said. "Perhaps in this case, it's not a means of detection, but cancelling out altogether."

Clara tried to figure out what she meant, but failed. "Doctor, what do we do?"

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a long moment, and then looked at the younger woman. "O'Donnell. Excellent work, returning the base to Day Mode."

"Shut up." O'Donnell looked away, a light blush and small smile on her face. "It was nothing-You really think so?"

"Now put it back into Night Mode."

"What?!"

"We know nothing. We don't know what they want. That's what's getting us killed. Well, I won't run. Not any more. So, O'Donnell, kindly put the base back into Night Mode. We want to know what these ghosts are after? We ask them. We're going to do the impossible. We're going to capture a ghost."

* * *

After coming up with a plan of action, the group were sent to their posts. That left the Doctor, Ember, Cass and O'Donnell on the Bridge, watching the others through the CCTV. The lights went dim and the computer announced _"Good Evening. Entering Night Mode."_

O'Donnell looked at Ember, seeming to consider something, and then looked away. The brunette tapped her shoulder. "You want to ask me something. Go on. I'll answer as best I can."

"Um..." O'Donnell hesitated again before she spoke. "I've heard stories, about you and the Doctor. Well, mostly him. There isn't much about you open to the public."

"That's probably for the best," Ember shrugged. "So what have you heard about me?"

"That you can see through time. You know about things that haven't happened yet, and you appear and disappear and then reappear around his timeline."

"Well, most of that is right. Sometimes I go the future, sometimes I go to the past. Dunno about the seeing through time bit, though."

"They say that you know a possible path of how things go," O'Donnell said. "That you can see the future."

"Only a possible future," The Doctor cut in. "Just because she sees it doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen. Every choice, every move we make, the path of the future splits into however many different paths. Ember can only see one, and it isn't always exact. So before any of you blame her for what's happening, don't. Foreknowledge is dangerous, and Ember can only give us hints and little nudges."

_So, did you know this was going to happen?_ Cass asked via signing. _Did you know that Pritchard would die?_

"She's asking if I knew Pritchard would die." Ember said to the Doctor and O'Donnell, sighing heavily before she replied to the deaf woman, knowing she could read lips if one talked slowly. "If he stuck to his greedy ways, yes. I tried to warn him, to coax him to make a different choice, but he wouldn't listen. I can't change a person's path if they're not willing to make an effort to go another way." She paused again, thinking back. "Sometimes it doesn't even matter if I try to change it. Sometimes, they... they die anyway."

Cass looked thoughtful before she signed again. Ember spoke her question aloud.

"Will this plan work? Barring any changes, then yes. No one will get hurt in this plan. Afterwards? Well, I'll only have a better idea about it when we get there."

Everyone looked at her for a long moment before O'Donnell caught sight of movement on one of the screens. "Bennett's got them moving, and Clara's in position."

On the screen, they could see Bennet running down a corridor. The three ghosts were following at a leisurely pace that should have made them fall behind, but somehow they weren't too far behind him.

The Doctor moved to the big map of the base, using an earpiece to talk. "Clara, Bennett is going to run across the top of the T-junction to your right in about ten seconds. Draw the ghosts towards you. Turn right, and then take second left."

They watched on the screen as Bennet passed the junction, and then Clara appeared to the side. _"Hey! Hey, ghosts. Down here!"_

The ghosts, not having seen where Bennet had gone, turned and followed Clara as she ran.

"Lunn, they're coming your way." The Doctor said. "Clara's going to duck down to her left. You've got to keep the ghosts going on the same route they're on now. Then, after about fifty yards on your left, there is a flood door. O'Donnell will close the door once you're through."

_"I... I can hear them."_

"Lunn, don't let them see where you go."

Lunn stepped into view as Clara ducked out of it. _"Hey! Yeah, this way!"_

The ghosts paused, but then only Pritchard began to follow him. The other two turned to where Clara had gone and continued to follow her.

_"We've got a problem!"_ Lunn called as he ran.

"They've separated." O'Donnell said.

The Doctor glanced over. "What?"

"Moran and the mole guy are going after Clara. Clara, look out. Two ghosts are still on your case. Right behind you!"

_"I'm beginning to think we should have let the ghosts in on the plan!"_ Clara yelled.

The Doctor looked at the map again. "Clara, there's a flood door at the end of the corridor, around the corner to your right. We'll close it from here. Listen to me. You've got to get through that door before Moran and the other ghost sees you!" He looked back at the screen just in time to see Clara duck around the corner and through the door. "Now, O'Donnell, fast as you can!"

The door closed just before the ghosts saw Clara, so they continued on past it without knowing that she'd eluded them.

_"Guys, I'm nearly at my door."_ Lunn said, going through another open door that was closed a moment later.

"Now, Lunn, quickly!"

The door was closed, but not quickly enough.

_"It saw me. Oh, God. It saw me. It's coming through. It's coming through the door."_

They could only watch as Pritchard stepped through the closed door. O'Donnell shook her head. "We don't have a camera in there."

Ember saw Cass get up and make for the door, so she got in the way and grabbed the woman's arms, making sure she was looking at her as she spoke. "Remember when I said no one gets hurt? I meant it. He's fine."

Cass hesitated before she nodded, stepping back and looking at the CCTV.

"Lunn, can you hear me?" The Doctor said into the handset. "Can you hear me? Lunn, what's happening?" There was a pause before they saw Pritchard coming back through the door, walking away. "Lunn, can you hear me? Lunn? Lunn?"

_"I'm okay."_ Lunn spoke a moment later.

O'Donnell grinned, turning to speak to Cass. "Cass, he's alive."

_"It didn't hurt me. I'm okay..."_

The Doctor blinked, puzzled. "What? What's wrong with _you_? Why didn't it hurt _you_?"

Ember tugged his sleeve. "Focus on that later. Still have ghosts to wrangle!"

"Bennett, you're on again. Bennett, where are you?"

O'Donnell brought up the CCTV, showing the other man hiding around the corner from the other two ghosts. "There. Oh, God, look."

"Bennett, can you hear me? There are two ghosts just around the corner from you."

_"Yes, thanks, I'd noticed."_ Bennet whispered back.

"The Faraday cage is across the intersection and down the corridor to your right. This last bit is down to you."

They watch Bennet take a deep breath before he turned and ran. The ghosts immediately gave chase, joined by Pritchard. _"Okay, so, the good news is, they aren't split up any more. Cue Clara!"_

The door to the Faraday cage opened, seemingly by Clara, but when the ghosts walked in, they went right through her. It turned out to be an image, which flickered as the door closed and locked, trapping the ghosts inside.

Everyone on the bridge let out a deep sigh of relief, but they knew it wasn't over yet. The Doctor and Ember ran out of the Bridge and down the corridors until they got to the Faraday cage. After getting the others to go back to the Bridge, the Doctor put on a pair of sunglasses that doubled as a Sonic.

"We need to talk." He said, looking through the window at the ghosts. "Sorry, chaps. Just a hologram. You play a little bit too rough."

The hologram of Clara vanished, and the ghosts moved closer, mouthing something.

"Cass, are you seeing this?" The Doctor asked.

A few moments later, Lunn replied on Cass's behalf. _"She says she can't see them properly. The glass is too thick and they're too far away."_

"Open the door."

_"What?"_

Clara managed to get on the comm. _"Doctor, you can't go in there, they will kill you!"_

"He's not going in there," Ember said. "I am."

That made the Doctor look at her in surprise. "What? Why you?"

"Because they want to kill you, and even though they can't, it doesn't mean it'll be comfortable when they try." Ember held his gaze evenly. "I, on the other hand, will get the same reception Lunn got. I can't remember what they're saying, but I know it's important, so we have to know."

"You will?" The Doctor asked. The brunette nodded, and after a long moment, he sighed and took off the sunglasses. "Promise me you'll get out if you see them doing anything different."

"I promise." Ember took the glasses and put them on, moving to the door. "Alright, open it."

_"How do you know they're not gonna kill you?"_ Clara asked.

"The same way I knew they wouldn't hurt Lunn. Trust me."

There was a pause, and then the door unlocked. Ember opened it just enough to slip inside before closing it behind her, facing the ghosts head on. The one that had been Moran stepped closer, but didn't reach out like it would have done to the Doctor, so Ember focused on his silently moving mouth. "Alright, what's he saying?"

_"She says they're saying the same thing, the same phrase, over and over."_ Lunn replied after a moment. _"They're saying the dark. The score. No, the sword. The for sale? No, the forsaken. The temple."_

"What?" The Doctor asked. "Are you sure?"

_"Yes, she's sure. The dark, the sword, the forsaken, the temple. Just that. Over and over."_

Now that she knew what they were saying, Ember could remember it better. "It's a code. It had to be short. Easier to remember, even when you don't know what it is."

It only took another moment before the Doctor spoke again. "Bennett! I need maps. I think I just worked out what our friend here is telling us. Ember, come on out."

Ember stepped back, waiting until the door unlocked before she quickly squeezed through the gap and closed it behind her. She'd barely stepped away from the door before the Doctor pulled her into his arms, and she found herself enjoying the comfort that his embrace brought her. "Not that I'm complaining, but what's the hug for?"

"I always get concerned when you go off the script like that." The Doctor said, keeping his voice low so that the others wouldn't hear him. "Would it really have hurt if I'd gone in there?"

"Don't think so, but it definitely didn't look comfortable when he put his hand in your chest." Ember replied. She pulled back enough to look up at him, shifting the glasses to perch slightly lower on her nose so that she could look over them at him. "What do you think? Shades suit me?"

He response surprised her: He smiled gently and said "anything you wear suits you."

Ember blinked, and then promptly turned red as she shyly looked away. She didn't see him smirk in triumph as she stepped back to give him room. "Uh, Thanks, um... we'd better get back. Maps to see, so on."

His smirk lasted the whole walk back to the bridge, and when they entered the room, he found Clara raising a brow at him. "What?"

"I made them cut off the camera feed to the glasses after she left the cage," she said, watching as Ember moved to sit down and take the glasses off her face, looking at them thoughtfully. "Didn't think we needed a front row seat to the flirting."

The Doctor looked unashamed, adjusting his jacket in apparent nonchalance. "Am I not allowed?"

"That depends. But enough about that. You asked for maps?"

"Yes." The Doctor moved to the centre of the room, gaining everyone's attention. "They're coordinates."

Bennet looked puzzled. "How can they be coordinates?"

"The dark? Space. So, whoever's following the coordinates knows they're going to another planet. The sword?" The Doctor handed Bennet an apple, a squeaky ball to O'Donnell and a table tennis ball to Clara. He was about to give her place mark marked with the Vector Petroleum logo to her, but Ember stood and took it instead. He then made them all line the objects up in a diagonal line. "Orion's sword. The sword, the three stars, although one isn't actually a star but the Orion Nebula, hanging down from Orion's belt. But if viewed from back here," he moved to the side, "the Earth becomes the fourth bit of the sword. So, narrowed it down to a planet now. Getting closer."

He then retrieved the objects and put them on the map table that showed the layout of the flooded valley and the village within it. "The forsaken. The forsaken or abandoned or empty town. See, it's a location, beaming out to someone or something across the universe, over and over. And every time they kill one of us-"

"It strengthens the signal." Clara finished in realisation. "Another ghost, another transmitter."

"Which is why they sent for that rescue sub." O'Donnell added.

The Doctor nodded. "Get more people down here, kill them, make even more ghosts to beam out the coordinates."

Cass signed, Lunn speaking. "But why are they beaming out the coordinates? Is it a distress call?"

"It could be. Or a warning. Might even be a call to arms. It could mean, 'come here, they're vulnerable, help yourself'. Wait a minute, though. Wait a minuet... Do you know what this means? It means that they're not a natural phenomenon. It means that someone is deliberately getting people killed, hijacking their souls and turning them into transmitters."

O'Donnell shook her head. "But what do the coordinates lead _to_, though? To us? To the ghosts? What?"

"Ah! What the coordinates are for. That is part of the answer to the other question you're all thinking." The Doctor frowned when all he got was blank stares - apart from Ember, who had a face that showed that she already knew and wasn't happy about it. "Really? Come on. None of you? Surely just being around me makes you cleverer by osmosis? Ember doesn't count, by the way, she's already clever. What is the other question?"

Ember looked away with another shy smile as Cass signed again for Lunn to translate. "The temple. The fourth part of the directions. What's the temple?"

"Finally. It's like pulling teeth. This is the flooded military town. Shops, houses, town square, and this." The Doctor pointed to something on the map: a narrow building with an annex on one end.

Clara looked at it. "A church?"

"Some ancient civilisations might have used the word temple instead," Ember explained, then tensed as the feeling of nostalgia came over her for a moment. Had she heard that somewhere? Or said it before?

The Doctor nodded, not noticing her musing. "Whatever the coordinates are for, it's in that church. Find that and you're a hop, skip and a jump to stopping them."

Bennet held up a hand. "Wait, you're not suggesting that... But we're safe now. The ghosts are in the cage. We can get out of here."

"No one has to stay. In fact, I would prefer it if you went. You'll all get in the way and ask ridiculous questions. But, you know, _you-" _he gestured to Cass, Lunn and O'Donnell. "_-_have chosen to protect and serve. _You-" _this time at Bennett_. "-_have given yourself to science and the pursuit of knowledge. None of you have chosen anonymous or selfish lives. Go, and a part of you will always wonder, 'what would have happened if I'd stayed? How could I have helped? What would I have learned?' I want you to go. But you should know what it is that you're leaving."

"It isn't just that," Ember said before anyone could answer. "Yes, if you stay, you might find answers, but there's a chance you won't make it out alive. That is what you need to know. Whatever your choice, neither of them are necessarily right or wrong, but you need to be sure."

There was a long pause, and then Lunn spoke on Cass's behalf. "Cass says we should go, but everything that happens here is her responsibility now, so she's going to stay. So I, uh, guess I should too."

"Well, count me in." O'Donnell said. "Who wants to live forever, anyway?"

"Sorry, um... have you gone insane?" Bennet said, surprised. "We can go home." O'Donnell just shrugged and grinned. "They're ghosts, though. How can they be ghosts?" At last he sighed. "Well, at least if I die, you know I really will come back and haunt you all."

* * *

A short time later, they were set up with a small underwater drone. Bennet was controlling it using what looked like VR goggles and little controls on the tips of his fingers.

"Okay, the sub is approaching the town square." He said as he guided the drone. "Which way is the church?"

"North-north-west, one hundred and fifty yards." O'Donnell said, she and the others watching as he readjusted his course. "That's it. Starboard two degrees."

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Clara asked from where she was sat in a chair.

The Doctor was to the side, along with Ember. "Something that has the power to raise the dead and turn them into transmitters. I expect we'll know it when we see it."

"Wait, I've found the church." Bennet said.

"That's it, keep going."

They watched as the waterlogged debris and remains of the church came into view, almost everything growing moss over the years. Ember found herself wishing she could have gone out there in a wetsuit herself, finding it fascinating.

"Wait. What's that?" The Doctor suddenly said, pointing to a bit of white to the right. "Move closer."

Bennet did so, showing something among the debris; a white casket of sorts that looked pristine in the otherwise murky surroundings.

"Can the drone carry it?" Ember asked, though she already knew the answer.

"As long as it doesn't weigh over fifteen tons, it should be able to easily." O'Donnell replied. "Why?"

"Because we need to get it in here. It's important." Ember saw everyone giving her confused looks and shook her head. "That's a big hint. It needs to be here."

* * *

After getting the drone to carry the casket back to the base, it was now sat in the hanger, next to the ship. The Doctor barely needed to glance at it before figuring out what it was.

"It's the suspended-animation chamber from the spaceship." He said.

"So the pilot could be in there." Clara pointed out as the Doctor moved to knell in front of it and examine it.

"There's _something_ inside there. But it's deadlock sealed. I can't open it. It should be the pilot, it should be. So why do I think it isn't?"

"Because it's not. Someone else got there first: someone more important." Ember said, surprising them when she moved to the casket and sat down by one end of it, lowering her voice as though to soothe it. "We've got you. It's okay now..."

"More questions. Everything I solve, just more questions." The Doctor stood up and paced. "I have to go back to the beginning. We arrive, we see the ghosts. They don't kill us. They lead us here, they show us the spaceship. _Then_ they try to kill us."

Ember glanced up at him. "What happened between you seeing the ghosts the first time and then when they started trying to kill you? Where did you go?"

The Doctor blinked, turning to the spaceship. He ran up the ramp and looked at the etched symbols on the wall. "Not translated by the Tardis. Why?" He put on the Sonic sunglasses and looked at the symbols again, and then he took the off and ran back out, going back to the group, specifically to Cass. "Lunn, translate for me. Whenever I step outside, you are the smartest person in the room. So, tell me, what's weird about this? I know that it's all bonkers but, you know, when _you_ think about it, one thing keeps snagging in your mind. What is it?"

Cass loooked thoughtful for a moment before she signed, and Lunn translated. "The markings on the inside of the spaceship."

"The markings on the inside of the spaceship. Yes! Why?"

Another pause, then more signing. "I don't think they're just words."

"They're not. They're magnets."

Bennet blinked. "Magnets? How?"

"Well, a localised and manufactured electromagnetic field, to be precise. The dark. The sword. The forsaken. The temple. When we heard the coordinates for the first time, did anyone expect them not to be that? No, exactly. Me neither. It's like we already knew, somehow. Like the words were already in us."

"So that writing _is_ the coordinates?" O'Donnell asked.

"Everything we see or experience shapes us in some way. But these words actually rewrite the synaptic connections in your brain. They literally change the way you are wired. Clara, why don't I have a radio in the Tardis?"

"You took it apart and used the pieces to make a clockwork squirrel."

The Doctor tilted his head._ "And_ because whatever song I heard first thing in the morning, I was stuck with. Two weeks of Mysterious Girl by Peter Andre. I was begging for the brush of Death's merciful hand. Don't you see? These words are an earworm. A song you can't stop humming, even after you die."

Clara stepped away, going over it in her head and aloud. "Okay, so, the spaceship lands here. The pilot leaves the writing on the wall so whoever sees it, when they die, they become a beacon of the coordinates, while he slash she slash it snoozes in the suspended-animation chamber."

"Waiting for his slash her slash its mates to pick the message up." The Doctor finished.

"It also answers another question for you, Doctor." Ember spoke up. She hadn't moved from where she'd sat, her hand on the casket. "Why didn't the ghost kill Lunn when it had him cornered? Why didn't they even try to kill me when I stepped into the cage with them? What's the difference between the two of us and the rest of you?"

Lunn saw Cass's eyes widen, and then she began to sign almost too quickly for him to translate. "You didn't go into the ship. You two are the only ones who haven't seen the marks. So you're useless to them."

"So they leave you alone, waiting until you eventually see the marks for yourselves!" The Doctor breathed. "My God. Every time I think it couldn't get more extraordinary, it surprises me. It's impossible. I hate it. It's evil. It's astonishing. I want to kiss it to death."

Ember stood, about to turn, when she let out a gasp as her head throbbed, making her grab the casket for support.

"Ember?" She head Clara call as someone put their arms under hers to help her. "What's wrong?"

"A vision!" The Doctor's voice was getting further away. "I've got you, Ember, let yourself see it..."

_The corridor was flooding. Clara, Lunn and Cass were safe behind a closed flood door. Bennet and O'Donnell were going to be safe behind the other door when it closed. But the Doctor, who'd stopped for just a second..._

_He was too far away to reach the door before it closed, as there was more rushing water than was supposed to be, which made him lose not only his balance but too many precious seconds. The door closed, the corridor flooded, and he was drowned..._

Ember shook out of the vision with a sharp gasp, finding herself kneeling on the floor with the Doctor right next to her, dry and alive with his arms around her. "Ember, it's alright. Take a breath. You're fine..."

"What happened?" Clara asked, moving to kneel in front of them. "What did you see?"

"The base... it's flooding..."

Before anyone could ask what she meant, an alarm suddenly started blaring, and the computer spoke. _"Attention, all crew. Evacuate base immediately. Emergency protocols have been initiated. This safety message was brought to you by Vector Petroleum. Fuel for our futures."_

O'Donnell ran over to a wall touch screen. The words 'Flooding Initiated. Reactor Malfunction. Emergency Cooling' were flashing on it. "Oh, no! The ghosts tampering with the day-night settings caused a computer malfunction. Its first priority is to keep the reactor cool, so it's opening the hull doors and it's flooding the base."

"Cass says, close the internal flood doors." Lunn said. "That'll contain the water in the central corridor."

"Where's the Tardis?" The Doctor asked O'Donnell.

"On the other side."

"We need to get there. It's our only way out."

"Okay. We've got a little over thirty seconds before the flood doors close."

The Doctor helped Ember to her feet and took her hand, keeping her with him as they ran, though she soon took her hand back and ran ahead of him.

Clara saw Lunn and Cass lagging slightly and stopped to let them catch up. "Come on!"

They reached the main corridor, where the water was already ankle deep, and the flood doors on either side. Ember got there first, but she stayed in the main corridor, waiting for them to catch up.

O'Donnell, Bennet, the Doctor just got through the first flood door before it closed, trapping Clara, Lunn and Cass on the other side. The Doctor turned back, but then Ember caught sight of more water rushing down the corridor toward them. The same one that would stall him for too long...

She'd done it before, hadn't she? She'd moved water before, to make sure the Racnoss wouldn't kill the Doctor. He was in danger again, right now, at the risk of drowning. She had to stop that from happening!

Something twitched in her, like something clicking into place, and she moved to stand right in the centre of the corridor, facing the water. "No, you don't!"

The Doctor turned at her shout, seeing her eyes turn completely silver, engulfing her sclera, and even he could sense the rush of power suddenly coming from her. But before he could speak, Ember threw her hand out...

And the water that would have pushed them both down suddenly twisted, curving up and towering over the woman. It looked almost alive, almost serpentine, and if there were eyes it would have been staring right at the brunette.

The crew of the base stared with open mouths at the phenomenon, though Clara and the Doctor didn't look as surprised.

It was the Doctor that saw the trembling, both in Ember's outstretched hand and in the shape of the water's form. He grabbed Ember around the waist, pulling her with him to the open flood door, just before it closed. The water turned, almost like it was about to follow, but then it lost its form and continued down the corridor like nothing had happened. The whole thing lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like much longer.

Ember gasped, her trembling worsening, as the Doctor held her upright. Her eyes returned to normal, though slightly dazed. "Whoa..."

"What the hell just happened?" Bennet exclaimed.

"My girl happened, that's what," The Doctor shot back before he moved to the window on the flood door, seeing Clara on the other side, and reached out with his free hand to activate the intercom next to the door. "Clara, can you hear me?"

_"Yes, I hear you!"_ Clara replied._ "Is Ember alright?"_

The Doctor glanced at Ember, who nodded with still dazed eyes. "She's fine. I'll get you and the others out! Sit tight, I'll come back for you!"

_"Just come over here in the Tardis now!"_

"The Tardis won't go there. It won't go near the ghosts!"

_"You can't just leave us!"_

"Listen to me. I'm going back in time to when this spaceship landed. If I can understand why this is happening, I can stop them killing anyone else."

Ember shifted so that Clara could see her when she spoke, despite the fact that the brunette's own vision was still blurry. "The answer is in the past. I promise, all three of you will be alright if you stay alert! Keep your phone close too!"

"We can save you." The Doctor added. "You trust us, don't you, Clara?"

There was a moment as the water was almost level with the window, and then Clara nodded.

"Wait, you're going to go back in time?" Bennet asked. "How do you do that?"

"Extremely well." The Doctor turned, taking Ember with him, and began to move as fast as he could toward the Tardis. He made sure she was still at least coherent. "You still with me?"

Ember nodded. "Head hurts and everything's a bit blurry, but at least I don't think I'm gonna pass out this time. Blew up a house yesterday."

"Is this the first time you manipulated water?"

"No. It's the second. First time was to drown flesh-eating spiders. Wasn't sure it was gonna work." Ember shook her head. "Did it?"

"Yes, it worked, you kept it back long enough for us to get to safety," The Doctor pulled her closer, and while she couldn't see it, she felt him kiss her forehead. "You are brilliant, even so early!"

Ember decided she'd ask about that later. For now, though, something else got her attention. "My socks are wet."

They reached the Tardis, where the Doctor quickly let them in. To his amusement, a pair of black combat boots and a clean pair of socks were already waiting on one of the seats, along with a small towel. "Looks like the Tardis thought ahead. You alright to change?"

"Yea." Ember nodded as she was led to the seat. Her vision was starting to settle down. "Just get us going."

The Doctor nodded, turning to Bennet and O'Donnell, who were staring at the interior with wide eyes and open mouths. "Yes, it's bigger on the inside. Be impressed later."

Ember looked up at the ceiling as her vision finally cleared. "Some coats for our guests, please?"

There was soft groan, and then she felt a mental nudge leading her eyes to the left, where she saw a coat rack with several coats on it just at the top of the stairs leading to the upper gantry.

"Thank you," she patted the seat, feeling it warm under her touch, and she looked at Bennet and O'Donnell as she pulled her wet socks off. "Guys, grab a coat. It's gonna be cold where we're going."

"Where are we going?" O'Donnell asked as she and Bennet moved to get coats and scarves.

The Doctor took the handbrake off, and the Tardis immediately began to leave. "Back to before the flood."

* * *

Ok, there's part one! And Ember gets her little taste of manipulating water. Hoping to post part two by Thursday at the latest.

Next Time: The team learn the origins of the ghosts, and Ember gets annoyed again, as well as some more deja vu. Stay tuned!


	8. Chapter Eight: Before The Flood

And here's part two!

Small warning; there's some swearing.

* * *

Chapter Eight: Before The Flood

* * *

The Tardis landed on what looked like a railway platform, and the Doctor opened the door, Ember and O'Donnell following. "Where's Bennett? We need to get going."

"Oh, he's still throwing up." O'Donnell replied. "One small step for man, one giant bleaurgh."

"He's not the first, and probably won't be the last." Ember said, stepping out of the Tardis. She felt much more comfortable now that she was wearing boots.

The Doctor nodded. "Time travel does that sometimes."

"Somehow I doubt that Rose or Martha or Amy lost their breakfast on their first trip." O'Donnell pointed out.

That made the Doctor look at her. "You seem to know an awful lot about me."

"I used to be in military intelligence. I was demoted for dangling a colleague out of a window."

"In anger?"

"Is there another way to dangle someone out a window?" O'Donnell shrugged one shoulder. "What year are we in?"

The Doctor stuck a finger in his mouth and then held it up. "1980."

"So, pre-Harold Saxon. Pre-the Minister of War. Pre-the moon exploding and a big bat coming out."

"The Minister of War?"

"Yeah."

Ember grabbed the Doctor's hand and shook her head. "Not there yet."

"No, never mind." The Doctor agreed. "I expect I'll find out soon enough."

Bennet finally appeared, looking slightly green as he closed the door and put his glasses on. "Sorry about that. Had a prawn sandwich. Might have been off."

"Okay, another thing on the list." Ember muttered, then realised that they heard her, since they were staring at her. "I have a list of things I'm never gonna eat again, for reasons. Top of the list is spaghetti. Prawn sandwiches have just been added. It gets bigger every day."

The Doctor nodded. "Ah. Don't worry. Shall we go?"

O'Donnell paused, lifting her foot. "Just one sec, I've just got something in my boot."

The Doctor walked away, pulling Ember with him. The brunette nudged him with her elbow. "She likes the Tardis."

"Maybe we can take her with us sometime," The Doctor added, then saw her face fall. "Oh. We don't get to."

"We will if I have anything to say about it." The brunette muttered, turning as Bennet and O'Donnell caught up with them. They passed what were once shop fronts, a telephone box and a poster of Stalin. There were cutouts of Russian dolls and even a plastic dummy in the phone box. A short walk away was a large dam that kept the lake water away from the valley.

Bennet glanced at the poster. "Why have we gone to Russia?"

"Uh, we haven't." The Doctor said. "We're still in Scotland. This is the town before it flooded. The Tardis has brought us to when the spaceship first touched down. But here and now, it's the height of the Cold War. The military were being trained for offensives on Soviet soil."

They turned a corner, and found the spaceship parked in front of the church, its rear ramp down. As they reached it, Ember surprised them by going in first. They realised why when it was revealed that the wall was devoid of any symbols, and they followed her inside to see a wrapped mummy lying on the centre platform next the the stasis chamber.

"Oh, is that the pilot?" O'Donnell said, looking at the mummy and how tall it was. "My God, look at size of it."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, that's the body."

Bennet knelt down, opening the little hatch to reveal the two power cells.

"What do you mean, the body?" O'Donnell asked.

"This isn't just any spaceship." The Doctor explained. "It's a hearse."

Bennet stood up. "The suspended animation chamber's still here, and the power cells for the engine."

"And there are no markings on the wall." O'Donnell said.

"Yet." The Doctor glanced at Ember, who was now looking out of the ship. "What's wrong?"

The brunette held up a finger, and then pointed, making them look to see a familiar, moley guy. Only now he wasn't a ghost, carrying a briefcase and waving a large white handkerchief at them as he ran up to meet them at the ramp.

"Greetings!" He called.

O'Donnell looked at the newcomer in surprise. "It's him. That's the ghost from the Drum."

The alien reached them and moved to stand within an inch of the Doctor's nose, as if he was very short-sighted. "Remarkable." He moved to Bennet next. "Oh, and humans, too. Albar Prentis, Funeral Director." He handed each of them a business card with his name, business and even a slogan.

"You're from Tivoli, aren't you?" Bennet asked.

Prentis nodded. "The most invaded planet in the galaxy! Our capital city has a sign saying, if you occupied us, you'd be home by now."

The Doctor tossed the card away, not noticing that Ember had kept hers. "Yes, I've had dealings with your lot before. I can't say I'm a fan."

"No, we do tend to antagonise." Prentis gave a weak laugh.

O'Donnell heard sonething and looked around, but couldn't see anything. Ember caught her movement and tapped her shoulder. "Just water, and background noise. Don't worry about it."

"Oh." The woman nodded, leaving it at that. Ember glanced back where the sound had come from and just caught sight of a future Doctor peeking around a metal barrel. The brunette smirked and mouthed 'told you so' before she focused back on the conversation.

"What are you doing here?" The current Doctor asked, oblivious to the exchange.

"Ah, yes. Of course. This..." Prentis went up the ramp, gesturing to the mummy. "Is the Fisher King. He and his armies invaded Tivoli and enslaved us for ten glorious years! Until we were liberated by the Arcateenians. But, thank the Gods, soon we'd irritated them so much, they enslaved us, too!"

Bennet sighed as Prentis laughed again. "My first proper alien, and he's an idiot."

Ember leaned over, lowering her voice. "Actually, he's your third. Me and the Doctor are the first two."

"You are?"

"I'd have thought the controlling fire and water thing would have given it away."

If Prentis heard the conversation, he didn't show it. "And now, in accordance with Arcateenian custom, I've come to bury him on a barren, savage outpost."

O'Donnell glanced around. "You mean the town?"

"He means the planet." The Doctor corrected as Prentis came back down the ramp, getting up close to the Doctor again.

"Although, at the risk of starting a bidding war, _you_ could enslave me." The moley alien said. "In the ship I have directions to my planet and a selection of items that you can oppress me with."

The Doctor waved him off. "Listen, we've come from the future. You're about to send some sort of signal. How do you do it? Is it a special pen?"

Prentis blinked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"The technology you use. The thing that wrenches the soul out of the body and makes it repeat your coordinates for eternity. Give it to me now, I'm going to take the batteries out."

"We don't have anything like that." Prentis gave another laugh. "Even this belongs to the glorious Arcateenians."

"So who sends the message?" Prentis sniffed at the Doctor as he looked up at the mummy on the slab, and the Time Lord promptly turned away. "Back to the Tardis. I need to talk to Clara."

Ember turned to Prentis and caught his eye. "Here's some advice for you. Watch your back."

She ran off to catch up with the others before the alien could question her. She reached the Tardis just as the Doctor managed to get through to Clara, having a visual of Clara on the scanner.

_"Doctor? Doctor, are you all right?"_ Clara called.

"Yeah, fine. So listen, the spaceship, it's a hearse." The Doctor replied, then paused when he saw her face. "Clara, what's wrong?"

Clara hesitated. _"Another ghost has appeared."_

The Doctor glanced at Ember, who nodded while biting her lip as she took his hand. "What? Who? Has someone died?"

_"... Doctor, it's you. Are you okay?"_

"Yeah. Well... currently."

_"What does it mean?"_

"It means I die." The Doctor stepped back.

Clara shook her head. _"No, not necessarily. We can change the sequence of events so-"_

"This isn't a potential future. This is the future _now_. It's already happened. The proof is right there in front of you." He turned away, leaning on the railing and squeezing Ember's hand. "I have to die."

_"No. You can change things."_

"I can't. Even the tiniest change, the ramifications could be catastrophic. It could spread carnage and chaos across the universe like ripples on a pond. Oh, well, I've had a good innings." The Doctor leaned closer to O'Donnell. "This regeneration, it's a bit of a clerical error anyway." Then he looked back at Clara. "I've got to go sometime."

"_Not with me_!" Clara snapped._ "Die with whoever comes after me. You do not leave me."_

Ember felt the bristle before she spoke. "Don't assume you can tell us what we can and can't do. Do not think you can stand higher than others just because you want to."

"Clara, I need to talk to you just on your own." The Doctor cut in before the two women could get into a spat. He pressed a button, then picked up the phone and moved away from the others, though Ember trailed behind him to listen in. "Listen to me. We all have to face death eventually, be it ours or someone else's."

Clara sounded like she was about to cry. _"I'm not ready yet. I don't want to think about that, not yet."_

"I can't change what's already happened. There are rules."

_"So break them. You and Ember do it all the time. And anyway, you owe me. You've made yourself essential to me. You've given me something else to... to be. And you can't do that and then die. It's not fair."_

"Clara..."

_"No. Doctor, I don't care about your rules or your bloody survivor's guilt. If you love me in any way, you'll come back. Doctor, are you?"_

There was a long pause as the Doctor leaned over the console, head bowed. Ember felt something stir inside her, but she couldn't quite pin it down to a particular feeling. Was she mad that Clara was demanding they make a major change to time? Was she jealous because of whatever way the Doctor loved the human? Was it that flare of protectiveness that tended to appear whenever the threat of the Doctor dying rose? It wasn't clear enough to tell.

"I can't save Moran or Pritchard." The Doctor said at last, bringing Ember out of her thoughts.

_"No, but like you said, if you can... if you can find out why this is happening, maybe you can stop them killing anybody else, you can save us. And you can stop it happening to you."_

"I'll do what I can, but the future has already happened. We've just met the Undertaker and he's still alive."

Ember took the phone from him before she could chicken out. "Clara, listen to me. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure the Doctor comes back alive. I swear it."

_"... make sure you come back alive too, you hear?"_ Clara replied.

The brunette nodded, moving back to the console and putting the phone down so that the call went back to the screen and they could all hear. The Doctor gave her a concerned look before he resumed the conversation. "So. Ghost me. You've got a better view than me. How do I look? Any signs of trauma, any scars? Any clues as to how I die?"

_"No, nothing."_ Clara said._ "You're the same as all the other ghosts with the weird black eyes..."_

"Look closer," Ember urged.

_"Wait. Your coat. It's torn. The right shoulder."_ Clara held out the phone so that could see the image of the Doctor's ghost on the scanner.

The Doctor noticed the ghost silently mouthing something. "I assume I'm just saying the same thing as the others."

_"No. You're saying a list of names. Our names, mainly. Moran, Pritchard, Prentis, O'Donnell, Ember, Clara, Doctor, Bennett, Cass. Who's Prentis?"_

"The mole-faced chap." Suddenly the view tilted and there was a clatter, drawing Ember out of her confusion over her name being mentioned. "What's the matter, Clara, what's happening?"

_"You've moved inside. You're inside here now!"_

"What am I doing?"

_"Uh... nothing. You're... you're just standing there."_

"I'm not trying to kill you? Why am I not trying to kill you?" The Doctor looked at Ember. "Why aren't I trying to kill them?"

The brunette tilted her head. "He's saying something different, now he's doing something different. Pay attention."

_"No, wait, you're moving, going toward the control panel."_ Clara said, then let out a breath. _"Oh, no. He's opened the Faraday cage. He's let the other ghosts out."_

The Doctor turned to the phone. "I need to talk to me now."

_"Didn't you hear me? You opened the Faraday cage. The other ghosts are outside. Shouldn't we be hiding?"_

"In a minute. I need to talk to the ghost me."

There was another clatter as the image shifted, pointing at the ghost. _"Okay, Doctor, you're on."_

"Doctor. Such an honour." The Time Lord smiled tightly as the ghost turned to look at the phone. "I've always been a huge admirer. This is really a delight. Finally someone worth talking to, with the exception of Ember, who's always worth talking to. So firstly, why are you here?"

The ghost turned away, leaving the viewpoint.

"Clara? Clara, what's happening?"

_"Uh..."_ Clara reappeared on the screen. _"Uh, you, you've just stopped. Oh, no, wait, you've started again."_

Lunn spoke now._ "His message has changed. He's saying something different. He's saying..."_

_"What?"_ Clara asked.

"What?" The Doctor copied.

_"He's saying, 'the chamber will open tonight.'"_

The Doctor looked at Ember, who looked away, before he focused on the call again. "Clara, now the ghosts are out, go to the Faraday cage. They won't be able to get you in there... Oh, there's a problem."

_"Problem? What problem? Oh, really? Because everything else is going so smoothly..."_

"The phone signal won't be able to get through. What you'll have to do, Clara, put the phone outside, and you can watch it through the little round porthole. And when you see it ringing, if it's safe to do so, go out and answer it."

_"Okay, how long are you going to-"_

"Clara, listen to me. Don't let that phone out of your sight. I need to be able to reach you, I need to know everything my ghost does. Do you understand? I'll come back for you. I swear."

The image shifted, showing a wall, and then the call was lost.

"Come on." The Doctor turned to the door, only to turn back and stop them. "Oh, wait a minute. Not you, O'Donnell."

The woman blinked. "Why not?"

"Someone needs to stay here and mind the shop. What if Clara calls?"

"The last bloke that said something like that to me got dangled out of a window."

Bennet look uneasy. "Maybe the Doctor's right. Maybe it's best if you stay here."

"Never going to happen. Seriously, have you two met me?" O'Donnell pushed between them to walk out of the Tardis, leaving the men to exchange a look.

Ember just shrugged when they looked at her, but then her eyes widened as a thought struck her. "Oh, damn! Come on!"

The two followed her out, joined by O'Donnell as they ran back to the ship. It was just before they reached it that the Doctor saw Prentis lying prone on the slab, among the bandages, and the casket was gone.

"Prentis." He muttered, running up the ramp. "Prentis!"

"Guess that dead body wasn't so dead after all." O'Donnell said.

Bennet glanced up at the wall. "And now we've got the writing."

The Doctor looked around fearfully for Ember, only to let out a breath of relief when he found her standing at the bottom of the ramp, pointedly keeping her eyes away from the wall. "The Fisher King did it himself. The future is still coming."

"And that's not all he did," The brunette added, gesturing to the drag marks along the damp soil, going from the ship to the large doors of the church. The others joined her to look at it.

"He's taken the suspended animation chamber to the church."

Before anyone else spoke, there was a loud, roaring sound. The group looked around in alarm, except for Ember, who felt a shiver go through her that wasn't fear or anticipation. To her surprise, it was aggression, similar to the feeling she got when she saw the Empress of the Racnoss for the first time.

"What was that?" O'Donnell asked.

The Doctor took Ember's hand. "We need to get back to the Tardis. Now!"

They ran, but before they got even half way back to safety, another roar came from somewhere ahead of them, making them stop and duck into a narrow passageway of what was left of a building.

"It's cut us off!"

"Let's split up." O'Donnell cried, turning left and away from the group. She was surprised when Ember took her hand out of the Doctor's and went back for her, but saw Bennet about to do the same. "Go on, Bennett!"

Ember was quick to pull the other woman around the corner and into what might have been a living room in past times, both of them panting from the run. Then they held their breath as they heard something big walking past, making the same roar they'd heard before. After several long seconds, the sounds began to fade, and O'Donnell moved to get out of their hiding place when Ember grabbed her arm. "No. I'll check. If anything happens, you run."

She slowly stepped out, looking at the couches to her left, and then she felt the shadow come up behind her. She slowly turned to face the owner.

It stood about three metres tall, with mandibles on its face and spiky plate armour that arched up over its head like a hood or crown, and holding a large hand weapon. It was almost like a giant insectoid on two legs, with deep sockets for eyes. It growled as it pointed the gun at the brunette.

The weapon powered up, but then powered down almost instantly. The alien stepped forward and reached out with long, bony fingers. Ember fought the urge to avoid it, staring it dead in the face as the alien's fingers almost engulfed her whole head.

**_"You are not marked,"_** it said in a low, menacing voice.

"No, I'm not."

The massive head tilted, like it was examining her. **_"You smell... ancient. Far older than any race I've come across..."_**

Ember hid her puzzlement, not wanting to have it seen. "Yeah, that about sums me up."

**_"Such potential."_** The fingers were cold as they grazed her skin, but his next words were colder still. **_"Will you side with us?"_**

"Not a chance."

The fingers tightened, holding her head in a grip that she knew she couldn't get out of. **_"Then do not interfere."_**

"Leave her alone!"

Ember couldn't turn her head to look, but she knew who had shouted. She then saw a chunk of rubble fly over her head to hit the alien on its own. The alien roared, shoving her aside as it raised its weapon. "No!"

Too late. The weapon fired, hitting O'Donnell right in the middle, and though it left no physical mark, the woman collapsed in a heap.

"No!" Ember cried, moving to the woman's side. She turned her eyes to glare at the alien, throwing out her hand to make a line of flames erupt between them. The alien stumbled back. "You bastard!"

**_"The Flame Immortal..."_** the alien said, just loud enough for her to hear the surprise in its voice, and then it turned and walked away.

Ember let the flames disperse, moving her attention on the injured woman. "Hang on, come on, you can do it..."

Footsteps echoed, getting closer, and she almost sent more flames in their direction before she realised it was the Doctor and Bennet. That meant that it was too late. The brunette bit her lip enough to taste blood as she stood and stepped away, allowing Bennet to have a moment with the dying woman. The Doctor pulled her into his arms as soon as she was within reach, rubbing her back.

After a few more seconds, Ember turned to see O'Donnell now still in his arms. Bennet gently lay her back down.

"Who's next on the list?" The man said as he stood up and took his glasses off, turning to face them. "That list your ghost was saying, that's the order in which people are going to die, isn't it? I mean, I've only just figured that out. But you knew that all along, didn't you? Moran, Pritchard, Prentis... O'Donnell..."

"I thought perhaps, because her ghost wasn't there in the future, like Prentis's was..." the Doctor couldn't meet the man's eyes. "I thought maybe, maybe it wouldn't happen. Maybe she stood a chance."

"Yeah, but you didn't try very hard to stop her, though, did you? It was almost like you wanted to test your theory. So who's next?"

A hesitation, and then... "Ember."

"Yeah. Yeah. Except now you're going to do something about it, aren't you?" Bennet said, angry and lashing out. "Yeah, because it's getting closer to you. You change history to save yourself but not to save O'Donnell. You wouldn't save her."

Ember, who still had a little flare of anger herself, felt it jump up again. Before she knew it, she turned to the man, grabbed him by the lapels of his coat, and shoved him against the wall. Bennet looked at her with wide eyes, obviously not expecting her to have that kind of strength.

"You listen to me." She ground out through clenched teeth and a bloody lip. "There's a big difference between couldn't and wouldn't. The Doctor tried to keep her in the Tardis, but she chose to come out just like you did. I tried to draw that thing away from her, but she stood up for me and paid for it. She made her choices knowing how it might end. So instead of blaming the people who tried to save her, you can blame the asshole that killed her! You got that?"

Bennet nodded mutely, and the Doctor approached, gently prying Ember's fingers out of their tight grip on the man's coat. "This isn't about saving me. I'm a dead man walking. I'm changing history to save Ember."

The man turned his eyes away and walked off.

Ember closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. The anger was easing off, but in its wake cane guilt and grief. "Why does this keep happening? I thought if I distracted it long enough for her to get away..."

"You don't need to explain yourself," The Doctor hugged her again. "And it isn't your fault."

"You know, for someone who isn't much of a hugger, you're awfully clingy to me..."

"Well, I did say that you were the exception." The Doctor gave her a tight smile as he pulled away, and then he reached out to touch her bloodied lip. "Did the Fisher King hurt you?"

Ember poked her tongue out a little, wincing at the stinging on her lip. "No. Bit myself. By the way, how can I be next on the list? I haven't seen the symbols."

The Doctor took her hand and led her back through the hall. "How come my ghost appeared before O'Donnell's? I'm sure we'll figure it out."

They found Bennet waiting outside for them, keeping an eye out for the alien, before the trio went back to the Tardis.

"Big day for you." The Doctor said as he flipped switches and pulled a lever. "Time travel, twice!"

Bennet blinked. "Whoa, really? When are we going to?"

"Off the map. Out of the rule book. What if I don't die? What if I refuse?" The Doctor climbed up the steps to the upper galley. "I'm going to go back to the base and I'm going to save Clara, because that's what I do. And I don't see anyone here who's going to stop me."

"I'm not stopping you, but it's not going to work," Ember tried to tell him, but he just grinned.

As soon as he'd set the Tardis into flight, the Cloister Bell started ringing again, loud and ominous. Ember felt a shudder go through her at the sound; it was so familiar, she knew she'd heard it before, but when? And where?

After a short but bumpy ride, the Tardis settled and the bell stopped. The Doctor ran to the door and opened it, looking out. Ember and Bennet caught up with him, and quickly realised that they weren't back in the base.

"Why are we still here?" The Doctor asked, puzzled, as he stepped out of the Tardis. He looked around, but when he looked around a corner he saw another Tardis and another him stepping out of it: it turned out that they had reappeared around the side of the railway platform. He quickly backtracked before he was seen. "No. No, no, no, no, no!"

Bennet looked puzzled. "What?"

"We've moved half an hour backwards. I'm locked in my own time stream. The Tardis won't let me leave."

"Well, what do we do?"

"Now we have to keep out of sight, until time catches up."

Ember nodded and led them in the other direction. "I'd hate to say I told you so, but..."

The Doctor pointed at her. "Ah! No, don't."

"Alright. I won't say it."

They moved quickly to avoid getting seen, and they soon rounded a corner to see Prentis, alive and well, looking around the abandoned village.

"Prentis." Bennet said, keeping his voice down. "He's alive!"

"No, he's just not dead yet." The Doctor corrected. "And we don't tell him."

"Yeah, but he's right there. I mean, we can just-"

The Doctor grabbed him and pushed him against the wall. "No. However that sentence ends, no, we can't. Save him, and you'll want to save O'Donnell. You can't cheat time. I just tried. You can't just go back and cut off tragedy at the root. Because you find yourself talking to someone you just saw dead on a slab. Because then you really do see ghosts. We don't tell him. Understand? Not a word. We don't have that right."

"I'm sorry, but he's right," Ember added. "We can't change what's already happened in our past. There'll be consequences. Bad ones." She shuddered as she recalled the Reapers. "You really don't want to know what's waiting for one of us to mess up."

They ended up following the moley alien back to the ship, though they hid behind some metal barrels to avoid being seen as their past selves met Prentis.

Bennet saw O'Donnell, looking at the business card she'd been given and smiling at the pun on it, and made to get up, but the Doctor saw it and wrestled him to the floor. Their scuffle made the sound that O'Donnell had heard, making her look around, but luckily she didn't see them.

The Doctor, when he was sure that Bennet wouldn't try again, carefully peeked around the corner, just in time to meet the gaze of Ember's past self. The brunette gave a smirk and mouthed the words 'told you so' before she turned away, going back to the conversation. The Doctor pulled back and turned to look at his Ember, who smiled knowingly. "Cheater."

"What? I said I wouldn't. I didn't say I hadn't already." The brunette shrugged.

Soon enough, their past selves walked away, and Prentis went into the spaceship. The Doctor stood and was about to turn when Ember tugged his sleeve and pointed to his shoulder, where his coat had been torn in his brief struggle with Bennet. "Oh. I need more time. It's too soon. I haven't saved her yet. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. I've got no choice now, I have to face the Fisher King." He pointed at Bennet and Ember. "You two, back to the Tardis."

"I'm not going anywhere." Ember said. She hadn't had a vision, but the idea of leaving the Doctor alone with the Fisher King left an uneasy feeling in her stomach. "I know what's coming, and I'm not leaving you to do it on your own."

"... alright." The Doctor said at last. "But when I tell you, you get going. Are we clear?"

"Deal, but only because I know your plan already."

* * *

After sending Bennet back to the Tardis, taking one of the Powell cells from the ship and putting it at the dam, the Doctor and Ember went back to the church. Upon entering, they found the building mostly empty, like it had been stripped out before it had been abandoned.

Ember led them down some steps into the basement, which was similar to an old warehouse but with crosses fixed here and there. The suspended animation chamber was right in the middle, the top open.

They both could almost sense another presence in the room, so the Doctor spoke. "I've come from the future. I've seen the chaos you cause. The bloodshed."

**_"Tell me what you have seen."_** The Fisher King replied from the shadows. It was difficult to pin down exactly where it was coming from.

"Ghosts."

**_"Ghosts?"_**

"Souls wrenched from the dead. Repeating directions to here, to this spot, over and over."

**_"How many ghosts do I create?"_** The Fisher King asked, then demanded. **_"How many!"_**

The Doctor took Ember's hand and squeezed it. "Four that I know of. Maybe five by now. Probably more since I left."

**_"My ghosts will make more ghosts. Enough to bring an armada. Enough to wake me from my sleep."_**

"What will happen when your people arrive?"

**_"We will drain the oceans and put the humans in chains."_**

"This world is protected, by me."

**_"Yes. One man, lost in time. The seed of their destruction is already sown. They will die. The message will be sent. My people will come, and you will do nothing to stop it, Time Lord."_** Footsteps came from the right, and the Fisher King finally stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to the Doctor.

"Well, you're not what I expected," The Doctor muttered as the alien drew closer.

**_"Time Lords. Cowardly, vain curators who suddenly remembered they had teeth and became the most warlike race in the galaxy. They poisoned the pure, like the Flame Immortal."_**

Ember blinked at that. "What do you mean, poisoned me?"

The Fisher King turned to look at her.**_ "You do not know? You possess a rare gift..."_**

"Gift?" Ember felt the anger bubbling up again. "You call this a gift?! Knowing what's going to happen, but not being able to change it?! I knew you'd kill those people, but no matter what I did, it didn't matter! What the hell kind of gift is that?!"

**_"You have so much potential,"_** The Fisher King continued, lifting his free hand as though to touch her but stopping short. **_"So much unbridled power, but the Time Lords have tainted it; tainted you. I can see it, inside you. It yearns to awaken, to be free of the shackles that they have forced upon you..."_**

"... what?" Ember murmured. Shackled? What did he mean?

**_"Can you not feel it? The instinct? I saw it in your eyes when I killed the human girl. You can excel beyond mortal limits. But the Time Lords... they have tainted your pure power, made you weak with their own. Made you like them."_**

"Made me... like them...?"

The Fisher King moved closer. **_"But it is not too late. You can still shed their burden from your shoulders. You can make them pay for their crime... for what they have done to you..."_**

The Doctor finally stepped in, moving so that he was between Ember and the alien. "That's enough."

**_"The Time Lords thought they were fit to be gods, that they had that right to create and manipulate,"_** The Fisher King gave the brunette one last glance before he focused on the Doctor. **_"But you, you! You are curious. You have seen the words, too. I can hear them tick inside you. But you are still locked in your history. Still slavishly protecting Time. Willing to die rather than change a word of the future. You will be a strong beacon. How many ghosts can I make of you?"_**

The Doctor took a breath as the alien stepped back and turned to walk away. "You know, you've got a lot in common with the Tivoleans. You'll both do anything to survive. They'll surrender to anyone. You will hijack other people's souls and turn them into electromagnetic projections. That will to endure. That refusal to ever cease. It's extraordinary. And it makes a fella think." He paced around the Fisher King as he went on. "Because you know what? If all I have to do to survive is tweak the future a bit, what's stopping me? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The ripple effect. Maybe it will mean that the universe will be ruled by cats or something, in the future. But the way I see it, even a ghastly future is better than no future at all." He faced the alien head on. "You robbed those people of their deaths, made them nothing more than a message in a bottle. You violated something more important than Time. You bent the rules of life and death."

Ember shook her head as a strange feeling went through it. It wasn't like the pain she'd get when she was about to have a vision: it was more like that wobbly feeling when you've stood up too quickly.

'You bent the rules of life and death.' That was what had set off the feeling, she was sure of it. It was almost like... deja vu. But why?

"So I am putting things straight." The Doctor said, unknowingly bringing Ember out of her thoughts. "Here, now, this is where your story ends."

The Fisher King growled as he raised his weapon, pointing it at the Doctor's chest. **_"There is nothing you can do!"_**

"I've already done it." The Doctor lied. "The words have gone. I got rid of them. The future I saw, none of that will happen now. The message will never contaminate my friends. No one will die. No one is coming to save you. That's the thing about knowing you're going to die. You've got nothing left to lose."

With another growl, the Fisher King reached out with a hand and shoved him aside, stomping away. The Doctor watched him go before he turned to Ember, running to stand beside her and quickly examining the chamber. "I don't think this can sustain two people. Do you think you can get back to the Tardis?"

"No problem." Ember said. "But when this is over, we need to talk."

She turned and ran before he could reply. She ran up the stairs and out of the church, going around the other side so that she wouldn't run into the Fisher King. She was just turning the corner around which was where the Tardis was parked when she heard the explosion. She looked back around the corner and saw that the dam had broken, letting the water from the lake come crashing through into the valley. The Fisher King was watching as well, apparently knowing what was about to happen.

"You bent the rules of life and death," she muttered, though it was unclear if she was aware of the fact that she was repeating what the Doctor had said earlier. "You had no right. Now you'll pay for it."

She ran the rest of the way to the Tardis, getting in and closing the door behind her.

Bennet looked up in alarm. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Taking a different route." Ember replied, leaning against the door to get her breath back. She was about to say something else when a hologram of the Doctor appeared nearby.

_"__This is security protocol seven one two."_ It said. _"The echelon circuit has been activated. Please stow any hand luggage and prepare for departure."_

The engines started up, taking them away from the flooding village. Ember and Bennet held on to what they could for several minutes until everything settled. Ember turned and went to the door, opening it, and she and Bennett had just enough time to see that they were back in the underwater base before they hearing a familiar roaring sound.

"That thing is here?" Bennet asked, shocked.

"No." Ember replied. "It's just a recording. The Doctor is using it to control the ghosts."

Bennet blinked, puzzled, as he followed her down the corridor. "But... how did the Doctor get back here to do that?"

"He's been here all along. It was him that was in the suspended animation chamber. Remember when I said that it had to be in here? That's why. We took a short cut; he took the long way back. Now, come on."

They walked in silence for a minute or two before they stopped as the ghosts of Prentis, Moran, Pritchard and O'Donnell walked past them without even a glance in their direction.

"Where are they going?" Bennet asked. "Why aren't they attacking us, or rather, me?"

Ember turned to follow the ghosts, Bennet not far behind. "They're programmed to respond to the call of the Fisher King. The Doctor is using the recorded sound to lead them to the cage."

They followed the ghosts until they reached the Faraday Cage, where the ghost of the Doctor was stood in the centre, making the roaring sound. The ghosts all stepped in, and Ember immediately closed and locked the door behind them, watching as the ghost Doctor turned to look at her and then disappeared.

Bennet moved to the window as well, looking at the ghost of O'Donnell. Ember stepped back, about to give him some space, but then he spoke. "What was it? The Fisher King. Why did it come here?"

"I'm guessing that it either faked its own death, or the residents of Tivoli thought it was dead by mistake." Ember replied after a moment. "That spaceship didn't belong to it, so it couldn't fly away once it woke up. It needed a way to contact its own people so they could come and take over this new world it found itself on. As for your first question? I don't know what it was. But I have a feeling that's for the best."

"What about the list? The one the ghost Doctor said. It had your name in it, even though you never saw the writing."

Ember tilted her head. "That ghost wasn't made like the others. You saw it disappear after they all got in the cage? The Doctor used the same trick that we used to get them in there the first time: a hologram. Programmed by the Doctor to do and say everything it did so that we would get here. But as he said before, he wouldn't go and change history just to save himself; he's not like that. But he'd do it for the people he cares about, because he thinks they're worth it." She paused to look inside the cage as O'Donnell's ghost briefly looked at them. "I'm sorry I didn't save her."

To her surprise, Bennet smiled. "There's a difference between couldn't and wouldn't. Besides, you were right; I shouldn't have blamed you or the Doctor, because you both tried. I blame the asshole that killed her." He looked relieved when she smiled. "Is he dead now?"

"Yes. Because the Doctor got in the chamber instead, the Fisher King was caught in the flood. The missing power cell was what caused the dam to break."

"And the ghosts? Are they... stuck like this? Trapped forever?"

Ember shook her head. "Only as long as they stay on Earth. They're basically electromagnetic signals, using the planet's own magenetic field to keep themselves going. Take that away, and..."

"They'll disappear." Bennet finished, looking at the ghosts again. "Then will they be free?"

"I honestly don't have the answer to that. But I'd like to think they will. If there's anything left of who they were in there, they'll be at peace."

They watched silently for a little longer before they heard footsteps, and they glanced back to see the Doctor, Clara, Lunn and Cass approach.

"What will happen to them?" Bennet asked, which puzzled Ember. She didn't comment, though; it wasn't her place.

"UNIT will cut out the Faraday cage with them inside and take it away." The Doctor said. "Then the space-hearse will be destroyed, so the writing doesn't infect anyone else."

Bennet nodded. "What do I do now?"

That made the Doctor pause. "I don't understand."

"I do." Clara said, approaching the man. "You keep going. You have to. Take it from me, there is a whole world out there. A galaxy, a life. What would O'Donnell have wanted?"

The Doctor gave him a moment before he spoke. "I need to erase that message from your mind, but it's fine, I'll do it later."

The trio of travelers moved away, letting the remains of the crew talk, smiling when Cass pulled Lunn in and kissed him.

* * *

A short while later, the Doctor, Clara and Ember were back in the Tardis, on they way once more.

"What will UNIT do with the ghosts?" Clara asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "Drag the cage into space, away from the Earth's magnetic field. With nothing to sustain them, the ghosts will eventually fade away."

"Here's what I don't understand. You _did_ change the future. You stopped the Fisher King from returning."

"The Fisher King had been dead for a hundred and fifty years before we even got here. But once I went back, I became part of events. But here's the thing. The messages my ghost gave, they weren't for you, they were for me. That list. Everyone after you was random, but Ember being the next name; _that's_ what made me confront the Fisher King."

"Because if anything will get you to change the future, it would be her," Clara agreed, glancing over at the doorway that led further into the ship, where Ember had gone to, as she claimed she needed a nap. "And saying the chamber will open?"

"That was me telling me to get inside and when to set it for."

"Smart."

"Except that's not why I said them."

"How do you mean?"

"I programmed my ghost to say them because that's what my ghost had said. And the only reason I created my ghost hologram in the first place was because I saw it here. I was reverse engineering the narrative."

Clara nodded. "Okay, that's still pretty smart."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You do not understand. When did I first have those ideas, Clara?"

"Well, it must have been..." then the penny dropped. "Wow."

"Exactly. Who composed Beethoven's Fifth?"

* * *

_She couldn't see very well, like she was in water that wasn't completely clear. Blurred shapes crossed in front of her, but she couldn't tell what they were. She tried to move, but found that she could barely feel her limbs, never mind move them._

_"Is she conscious?"_

_A voice she didn't recognise spoke, possibly male, but she couldn't be sure. One of the blurs moved closer, though it didn't make it any easier to see what it was. _

_"She shouldn't be." Another voice said._

_The first voice returned. "But she is. Remarkable!"_

_"She probably isn't coherent. I doubt she'll remember this."_

_Her eyes closed without her consent, but before it all went dark, there was one thought: She would remember this... and they'd be sorry she did..._

* * *

Ember woke up with a gasp, finding herself sat on the floor in front of her bedroom door. She'd just gone into her room and let herself sit for a moment, but had instead fallen asleep.

"Ugh, another dream..." she muttered, moving to push herself to her feet. She checked her watch, to find that only about an hour had passed. "Okay, there's time for a shower."

* * *

A few hours later, after dropping Clara off at her home, the Doctor went in search of Ember. He was beginning to think that she'd jumped already, but then the lights on the floor of the corridors lit up, creating a path that soon led him to where the swimming pool had ended up. That was where he found Ember, but he didn't announce his presence yet, simply watching.

The brunette was sat beside the pool, her feet over the side but not touching the water. She'd changed at some point, now wearing a pair of dark blue shorts that reached mid-thigh with black leggings, a red shirt and her denim jacket. Her hair was tied back into a short ponytail, and black combat boots were on her feet.

To anyone else, the scene would have looked like something out of a fantasy movie, as Ember had her hand out. The water from the pool had arched up, curling over like a snake and facing her like it was alive. It wasn't as streamlined as the Doctor had seen before, as ripples could be seen on the surface, but at least it was somewhat solid.

"Am I interrupting?" He said at last.

The result was instant. Ember turned to look at him, and thus lost her concentration. The water form collapsed, splashing back into the pool and lightly catching her legs too before she could pull them out of the way. "Doctor, you scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry." The Doctor moved to her side and held out a hand, helping her to her feet. "I see you've been practising."

"Um, well, I was on my way back to the control room when I found the pool. Then I thought, may as well give it a go." Ember looked at the water as it finally settled. "Was it any good?"

"It gets better, with practice. How did it feel? Any pain, or headaches?"

"A bit, yeah. Kinda like how it started with the fire."

Nodding, the Doctor led her to a couple of deck chairs that were to one side, seating them both. "I came to check on you. You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah, thought I dunno what you can tell me." Ember replied, folding her hands on her lap. "It's about that stuff the Fisher King said. What the Time Lords did to me, how I'm powerful, and so on."

"I can't tell you what your other biology is, you know."

Ember looked at him. "How do you know that I don't already know what I am?"

"Because I found out a long time ago, at the same time that you will. And there's something that you don't have yet, so I know you haven't been there yet."

"What? Something I don't have?" Ember asked, puzzled. "What, like another scar? As if my face isn't bad enough to look at as it is..."

The Doctor reached out and took her hand where it had been touching her scar, pulling it away from her face. "Now, stop that. When are you going to see that you're beautiful?"

Ember blushed at the compliment, but didn't fight him on it either, so he considered it a win. "What will I have in the future that proves to you that I know, then?"

"Spoilers."

"Yeah, I knew you'd say that." The brunette huffed. "Okay, then what about the Time Lords 'poisoning' me. What did that mean? What did they do to me?"

The Doctor sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before looking at her again. "I think, what the Fisher King meant was, was that you are a combination of two races: Time Lords, and the other one. Now, Time Lords are powerful in their own right, but the other one... is much more than that. It's where your control over the Elements is coming from. The other one is a race that is, for lack of a better word, almost godly. They could very well be the closest thing to actual gods, in certain ways."

Ember nodded to show that she was following. "And the poisoning?"

"It's how certain races may see it. Like the Fisher King, for example. It considers Time Lords as a bad thing, and that being part Time Lord is bad for you, or as the Fisher King said, that's tainting the other part of you. I mean, it isn't having any negative physical effects on you that I've noticed, just so you know..."

"Kinda like a Dalek, then." Ember said, recalling her adventure with the Daleks who pretended to be 'Ironsides'. "Whatever I am, I've been 'tainted' because of the Time Lord DNA. I'm a mongrel..."

"You are most certainly no mongrel." The Doctor said firmly, squeezing her hand.

"So was I born like this? Part Time Lord and part something else?"

"I assume so, yes. Well, I don't think your biological parents were of two separate species that had a child together, if that's what you mean..."

Ember shook her head. "So I was created. By the Time Lords?"

The Doctor sighed again. "I can't say for sure, but to be honest, I wouldn't put it past them to have done something like this. Though I'd have to wonder how they did it. Time Lord DNA is easy to get for themselves, but... the other one would have been much harder. Maybe the other race was the one that did it, though I can't really see them doing that on their own..."

"Great. One answer and a dozen more questions: story of my life." Ember muttered.

"... And most of them won't really be answered until you learn who the other race is. But I'm afraid there's still more to come." The Doctor said. "I remember those shorts, so I know the next two places you're going next. One of them isn't too bad, but the other... I'm sorry."

Ember looked at him, but before she could ask what he meant, she felt the familiar burning sensation that signaled that she was about to jump. "Now?!"

She jumped before he could reply.

* * *

Okay! Posted later than I wanted, but it's still Thursday, so it counts! Hope you like it!

Next Time: Ember has to tap in her barely-there maternal instincts, and protect a child from their fears. And she's gonna have to do it without her powers too! Stay tuned!


	9. Chapter Nine: Night Terrors

Ok, here's the next one!

I had originally planned to go straight to what happens in the next chapter, but I decided last minute to slip this one in cuz it's a bit of a softer one and Ember could use a break, don't you think?

* * *

Chapter Nine: Night Terrors

* * *

Ember frowned as she realised she was standing in what looked like estates. Though that was confirmed a moment later when she saw the large sign that read 'Council Estates'. The block of flats was tall, and it looked similar to the one that Rose lived in.

The slight pang of guilt that always came whenever she thought of the blonde was expected; despite Rose being okay, it still hurt to know that she couldn't save her from being trapped in a parallel universe. Even if it did turn out alright in the end.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar wheezing sound, and she turned just in time to see the Tardis slowly appear a few feet away. With a smirk, the brunette moved to hide behind it, avoiding the puddle that was next to it, as she heard the door open.

A moment later, she heard Rory's voice. "No offence, Doctor..."

"Meaning the opposite." The Eleventh Doctor cut in.

"But we could get a bus somewhere like this."

"The exact opposite."

Amy's voice was next. "Well, I suppose it can't all be planets and history and stuff, Rory."

"Yes, it can. Course it can. Planets and history and stuff. That's what we do. But not today. No."

Ember peeked around the corner, seeing the trio looking at the flats with their backs to her, and then crept up behind them. When she reached the Doctor, she dropped her hands on his shoulders and cried "Boo!"

The result was exactly what she expected: all three of them leapt at her shout with screams, the Doctor whirling around and hopping up and down on the spot as his cry morphed into words. "Ah, why would you do that?"

"Sorry, I had to." Ember said, chuckling. "Had a rough few days, so I needed a laugh."

The Doctor was quick to catch on, moving up to hug her. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"River nearly killed you and then saved you, then ghosts with Charles Dickens, then more ghosts in your future."

"Ah." The Doctor pulled back, looking her over while keeping his hands on her biceps. "Nice shorts."

Ember looked down at the mentioned clothing. The Twelth Doctor had said he remembered her wearing these shorts, and where he'd seen them. "Thanks. So, what's going on?"

"Today, we're answering a cry for help from the scariest place in the universe. A child's bedroom." The Doctor showed her his psychic paper, which had the words 'Please save me from the monsters' appearing and disappearing. "Any hints?"

"Hmm." Ember thought for a moment about what this was going to be about. "Okay, it isn't someone bad that's asking. No tricks, no evil plans, just a straight up 'a child is scared' sort of thing. With a twist."

The Doctor nodded, pocketing the paper and walking ahead. Ember moved to follow when Rory put his hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, two questions-no, three," He said. "First, have you been to Demon's Run, and second, have you been to the Pandorica?"

"No to both," Ember replied. "Sorry. And the third question?"

"Charles Dickens and ghosts?"

Ember told them the story as they entered the building, going to the elevator. As they waited for the lift to come to them, the Doctor flinched and pulled the psychic paper from his pocket to see the message appear on it again.

"'Please save me from the monsters'?" Rory read out. "Who sent that?"

The Doctor tapped him on the head with the paper before putting it away. "That's what we're here to find out."

"Sounds like something a kid would say." Amy pointed out. Ember rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know, you said it already."

"Exactly. A scared kid. A very scared kid. So scared that somehow its cry for help got through to us in the Tardis."

"Yeah, but you've traced it here."

"Exactly." The lift binged, the doors opening. "Ah. Going up."

The group split up, Amy going to one floor, Rory another, but when Ember tried to go on her own, the Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. She had asked why, but he'd only said "Spoilers" and pulled her along.

They walked to the end of the corridor and knocked on the door there. It soon opened to reveal an old woman who looked at them suspiciously.

"Hello." The Doctor said, smiling.

"Is it about the bins?" The woman asked.

"Pardon?"

"The bins. I can't be expected to get down all them stairs. I need new knees."

The Doctor glanced at Ember, who shrugged, before he looked at the woman again. "Not the bins, no, Miss...?"

"Mrs Rossiter."

"Can we come in?"

The woman raised a brow. "Course not. You could be anyone."

"We could be, but we're not. I'm the Doctor-"

The woman was about to shut the door in their faces when Ember stepped forward, holding out her own psychic paper. "You're right not to just let anyone in, ma'am. We're working with the Council to help communities like this one. We got a report about the lack of bins in the area, so we thought we'd see for ourselves."

"Oh?" The woman saw whatever it was on the paper and relaxed. "Well, it's about time. Going up and down those stairs isn't easy for me nowadays."

"We've come up with an idea. Would it help if we were to assign bins on the floors themselves, and make arrangements for someone to come and collect them every week?" Ember said.

"Oh, that would be lovely."

"Then consider it done. We have to look after each other, don't we? You have a good day, ma'am, and we'll get started on that right away."

The door closed, more gently this time, and the Doctor led Ember away before he spoke. "What did you do that for?"

Ember shrugged. "Because that's what a good community is supposed to do; look after each other. Um, is it possible to contact someone from UNIT to sort something out here?"

"Don't see why not." The Doctor threw his arm around her in a sideways hug. "You have such good hearts, you know that?"

"Well, I try..."

"You're very good at it. Come on, let's go to the next one."

* * *

After knocking on several more doors with no result, the Doctor and Ember met up with Amy and Rory near the lift again, though Ember did point out the scared little boy that was watching them from a window across the way.

"Hey. Any luck?" Amy asked.

"Three old ladies, a traffic warden from Croatia and a man with ten cats." The Doctor said, nudging Ember with his elbow. "Ember liked the cats."

Rory smiled at Ember's light blush before he spoke. "What are we actually looking for?"

"Ten cats. Scared kid, remember?"

Amy tilted her head, remembering the twin girls she'd met. "I found scary kids. Does that count?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Uh, try the next floor down. Catch you later." He turned and continued on, taking Ember with him again. He waited until they were around the corner before spoke again. "That boy?"

"Bingo." Ember nodded. "He's no ordinary child, but it's not his fault, nor his parents."

"Any other hints?"

"Photos. A picture speaks a thousand words."

When they got to the front door beside the window they'd seen the child, the Doctor knocked on it, waiting until a middle-aged man wearing a brown t-shirt and jeans opened it before he flashed his psychic paper at him.

"Oh. Right. That was quick." The man said.

"Was it?" The Doctor looked at the paper, surprised to see an ID for Social Services on it.

"Claire said she'd phone someone. Social Services."

"Yes. Yes."

"It's not easy, you know, admitting your kid's got a problem." The man said, looking resigned.

Ember nodded in sympathy. "It's always hard to reach out for help."

"I'm the Doctor. Call me Doctor. What can we call you?"

"Alex."

"Hello, Alex." The Doctor stepped inside the flat, followed by Ember, and quickly saw the label marked 'George's room' on the nearest door. "So, tell us about George."

Alex led them to the living room, where the Doctor was quick to grab a nearby family photo album and start flicking through. "Ever since he was born he's been a funny kid."

"Funny's good. We like funny, don't we?" The Doctor short Ember a grin between photos.

"He never cries. Bottles it all up, I suppose." Alex continued. "Tell him off, he just looks at you."

"How old is he?"

"He was eight in January. I mean, he should be growing out of stuff like this, shouldn't he?"

Ember shook her head. "Being afraid is something that goes with you even when you grow up."

"It's got worse, though, lately?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah." Alex admitted. "We talked about getting help. You know, maybe sending him somewhere. He started getting these nervous tics. You know, funny little cough, blinking all the time. But now it's got completely out of hand. I mean, he's scared to death of everything."

"Pantaphobia."

Alex blinked at the Doctor. "What?"

"That's what it's called. Pantaphobia. Not a fear of pants though, if that's what you're thinking. It's a fear of everything. Including pants, I suppose, in that case. Sorry. Go on."

"He hates clowns."

"Understandable."

"Old toys. He thinks the old lady across the way is a witch. He hates having a bath in case there's something under the water. The lift sounds like someone breathing..." Alex sighed. "Look, I don't know. I'm not an expert. Maybe you can get through to him."

The Doctor smiled. "We'll do our best."

"How about we meet him?" Ember suggested. "A nice chat may enlighten us."

Nodding, Alex led them back to the bedroom door with George's name on it, just as there was a crash from inside. The father rushed in to see his son tucked into bed. "George? You okay? What's the matter?" He looked around and saw the beside lamp on the floor, moving to pick it up and set it right. "Oh. Never mind. Were you having a nightmare, son?"

Ember glanced around the room. It was a typical little boy's room; a bed and a little desk and a big wardrobe against the wall. Toys were scattered around the room, and the boy even had a flashlight. George himself didn't look like anything other than a normal boy, with light brown hair and a little baby fat still on his cheeks, wearing blue and white stripe pyjamas.

"Wasn't a nightmare. I wasn't asleep." George looked over at where the Doctor and Ember were waiting in the doorway of his room. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor."

They boy's eyes widened in fear. "A doctor? Have you come to take me away?"

"No, George. we just want to talk to you."

"What about?"

"About the monsters."

Ember moved to kneel next to the bed, where she could be at a level to make the boy more comfortable. She wasn't great with kids, as far as she knew, but at least this boy wasn't a baby. "We've come to see if we can help you with them."

The Doctor swiftly scooped up a Rubik's cube from the floor and sat on the edge of the bed, absently trying to solve it, while Alex began to pace.

"Maybe it was things on the telly, you know?" The father suggested.

"Right." The Doctor was only half listening.

"Scary stuff, getting under his skin, frightening him."

"Mmm-hmm."

"We stopped letting him watch."

That made the Time Lord glance up. "Oh, you don't want to do that."

"Then Claire thought it might have been something he was reading."

"Great! Reading's great!" The Doctor turned to the boy. "You like stories, George?" The boy nodded. "Yeah? Me, too. When I was your age, about, oooh, a thousand years ago, I loved a good bedtime story. The Three Little Sontarans. The Emperor Dalek's New Clothes. Snow White And The Seven Keys To Doomsday, eh? All the classics."

"Don't mind him," Ember said when the father and son looked at them oddly. "His parents always gave the traditional bedtime stories a twist."

The Doctor shot her a bemused look before he tossed the cube aside, only to pick it up again. "Rubbish. Must be broken. I hate those things. Better tidy it away, though, eh? How about in here?" He moved to the cupboard, only to pause when the boy let out a scared sound. "No. Not in the cupboard. Why not in there, George?"

"It's a... thing." Alex replied. "A thing we got him doing ages back. Anything that frightens him, we put it in the cupboard. Creepy toys, scary pictures, that sort of thing."

"And is that where the monsters go? Yeah. There's nothing to be scared of, George. It's just a cupboard." The Doctor moved to unlock the cupboard door...

When there was a loud hammering from outside the room, making them all jump.

"Front door." Alex said, getting up and leaving the room. Ember moved to the door and peeked out just in time to see Alex open the front door. Standing on the other side was a man that was sweating a bit, hair slicked back, white tank on, just a bit dirty. Beside him was a bulldog on a chain leash. It was a perfect bully tactic.

"Evening." Purcell said, pushing his way in uninvited. Ember would have probably forgotten his name if there hadn't been a rhyme reference to the Duracell bunny, and how not-energetic the man was in comparison.

Alex didn't looked happy to see the man. "Oh, hi."

"How's Claire?"

"Good, thanks. At work. Look, er, this really isn't a good time. Maybe later I-"

"And the kiddie?" Purcell cut in rudely.

"Good. Yeah..."

"You know how I hate to mention it, but it's that time again."

"Yes..."

"And you know I like my money prompt."

Alex sighed. "The thing is, I still haven't found anywhere since the shop shut, and Claire's wage only goes so far. I thought we could, you know, come to some sort of arrangement..."

Ember heard the Doctor get out his Sonic, which caught George's attention. "Is that a torch?"

"Screwdriver." The Doctor replied with a smirk.

"No can do, son." Purcell said. "If I went around-"

Ember glanced back at the boys. "How about you show him a trick, Doctor?"

The Doctor grinned, activating the Sonic and making several of the battery powered toys move, which made the boy smile. "Ah, pretty cool, eh?"

Ember heard the dog growl and looked back through the door.

"Listen to him. Isn't he awful, eh?" Purcell looked at his dog. "Don't growl at the nice man, Bernard. He don't mean to upset daddy..." he turned almost accusing eyes at Alex, "...do you?"

Alex shuffled nervously. "No..."

"Look, son, I know what you're thinking. Here comes horrible Purcell after his rent. Dog on a chain." He made a feint at the father, who jumped. "See? Wasn't expecting that, was you? I'm not as daft as I look. In fact, I'm not daft at all."

Ember glanced back at the boys. "I'll be right back."

She left the room and closed the door behind her, moving so that she was near the front door but out of sight, as Purcell spoke. "All I want is my three hundred and fifty pound. Simple as that. Night, night. Come on, son. Come on."

"Excuse me," Ember said, making the man look up and turn to face her. "You're Mr Purcell?"

The man looked her over, staring at the scar on her face. "Who are you?"

Ember flashed her psychic paper at him. "I'm from the bureau, sir. I've been doing checks of our contracted council estates, and I'm afraid this one has come up with a red flag."

"But..." Purcell looked a bit confused. "There's nothing wrong here."

"I beg to differ, sir." Ember said. "I just witnessed a discussion between you and one of your tenants, and I'm not impressed."

"What?"

"We were discussing financial aid when you knocked." Ember said, keeping her best 'not in the mood for your crap' face on. Alex was smart enough not to correct her, stepping back to let her talk. "Your behaviour is appalling, to say the least."

Purcell looked surprised to be caught out. "I was just asking for this month's rent."

Ember nodded. "As any landlord would, but this family is having financial difficulties. I understand that rent needs to be paid, but you showed absolutely no support or understanding. You even threatened him."

"I did not!"

"You barged in without waiting for an invitation, which you have no right to do even as a landlord. And you brought a dog, which is unprofessional." Ember gestured to the dog. "That can be intimidating to your tenants, but you appear to have no regard for that. From what I saw, you just treated this man as if he was nothing but a doll that you can play with, and that isn't acceptable."

Purcell saw her eyes flash in warning, as though daring him to deny it, and he looked even more unsettled. "I... that wasn't my intention, I swear..."

"I'm glad to hear that, sir, but your behavior must improve if you'd like to continue here." Ember said. "Now, as I said, I've discussed financial aid with this family, and I am satisfied that they are eligible. So, under my advisement, this family is not to pay you a penny until the paperwork is sorted, and then you'll get the back pay, but you can expect a thorough investigation in the near future. And if we don't like how you act, sir, we will certainly find someone who meets our expectations."

The man looked a bit scared now. "O-Okay..."

"Now, if you'll excuse us, I just need to finish the interview." Ember turned to allow him to pass her, but then made him pause by speaking again. "Oh, and one more thing, Mr Purcell. If you think you're going to intimidate your tenants into backing you up, I'd think twice. Now that this has come to my attention, I will have eyes everywhere. Non-uniform staff will observe this property and report any violations or threatening behaviour to me directly. And if I get just one report, sir, we will terminate your contract with immediate effect."

Purcell looked surprised that she'd called him out on that. "I, I will do better, I promise..."

"Good. I think you need to re-evaluate your behaviour, sir. You shouldn't treat others like dolls, because that may one day come back to haunt you."

With that, she led him to the front door and closed it behind him. Letting out a breath and relaxing her shoulders, she turned to find Alex staring at her.

"You said you were Social Services," He said.

"Yes." Ember said. "And I'm here to determine what is bothering this family so much that a child is suffering. I apologise if I overstepped my bounds, but I couldn't stand by and watch a bully like that throw his weight around. And I meant what I said: you are not to pay a penny to him until you get the support you need. I'll provide contact details in case he tries to sneak in any more threats."

Alex looked more than a bit confused, but eventually nodded. "Thank you. That would help a lot."

Ember smiled. "Now, lets get back to the boys, yes?"

Nodding, Alex let her go into the bedroom first, to find the Doctor sat on George's bed, both of them staring at the cupboard. "Right. Sorry about that. So, have we got this thing open yet?"

"No! No, no, no, no, no." The Doctor cried, jumping to his feet. "You don't want to do that."

"Why?"

"Because George's monsters are real."

Ember slowly got between the two. "How about we go get something to drink? I always relax with a cold glass of milk."

The Doctor nodded, moving to leave the room. Ember followed, and soon Alex did as well, though the father was less than pleased.

"You're supposed to be a professional." He said as the Doctor started rummaging through the kitchen cupboards for cups and glasses. "I'll never get him to sleep now. It's so... irresponsible."

"No, Alex. Responsible." The Doctor said. "Very. Cupboard bad. Cupboard not bare. Stay away from cupboard. And there's something else. Something I've missed. Something... staring me in the face."

"Look, I'd like you to leave, please. You're just making things worse. Will you stop making tea." Alex moved othe cups away. "I want you to leave."

The Doctor pulled them back. "No."

"What? What do you mean no?" Alex followed him over to the fridge and closed the door. "Leave. Get out." The Doctor opened the door again, but it was pushed closed. "Now, please. Look, maybe this was a bad idea. We should sort out George ourselves."

"You can't." The Doctor said, opening the fridge again and taking out the milk, going back to the cups and glasses.

"No one's going to tell us how to run our lives. I don't care who you are or what wheels have been set in motion. We'll sort it."

The Doctor glanced at Ember, who was watching from the doorway. When she gave him a nod, he faced Alex again. "I'm not just a professional. I'm the Doctor."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alex asked.

"It means I've come a long way to get here, Alex. A very long way. George sent a message. A distress call, if you like. Whatever's inside that cupboard is so terrible, so powerful, that it amplified the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space."

"Eh?"

"Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire. Through empires of glass and civilizations of pure thought, and a whole, terrible, wonderful universe of impossibilities. You see these eyes? They're old eyes. And one thing I can tell you, Alex. Monsters are real."

There was a long pause as Alex looked at him, and then at Ember. Then he looked at the Doctor again. The way they were both watching him, it was obvious that they weren't crazy, and were _very_ serious.

"You're not from Social Services, are you?" He asked after a moment.

"First things first." The Doctor said. "You got any Jammie Dodgers?"

Ember shook her head with a laugh, "You and your biscuits." She turned to face Alex. "I know you've figured out by now that we're not Social Services. We're better. You need help, and your son needs help, but we're the only ones who _can_ help. Please. Let us help."

Alex glanced at the Doctor, who was looking at Ember with a proud look on his face, and then back at the brunette, slowly nodding.

Ember smiled, nodding her thanks when the Doctor handed her two glasses of milk, one slightly more full than the other. "Now, you guys talk. I'll be with George. Don't forget the photos."

"... who is she...?" Alex asked once the brunette left the room.

The Doctor looked at him. "The best thing that ever happened to me."

Ember hadn't heard them, having gone back to the boy's bedroom. She knocked on the door lightly before opening it, smiling at the boy. "Hi, George. Mind if I hang out with you for a bit?"

The boy nodded, and she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, handing him one of the glasses. "You know, it's alright to be afraid."

"... it is?" George asked. "People keep telling me to stop..."

"Well, they shouldn't. Being afraid isn't a bad thing." Ember sipped her milk. "In fact, someone I know once said that it's a super power."

The boy looked at her. "How is it a super power?"

The brunette smiled. "True bravery isn't when you're not afraid; it's that you keep going despite being afraid. When you're afraid, what do you do?"

"I... keep the torch on."

"And why do you do that? To look around. And you see things, hear things, don't you. Fear makes you more alert, makes you think faster. It gives you a boost of energy, which means you can run faster, react quicker. Being afraid is not a bad thing, and it makes you brave when you don't let it run your life."

George looked at her as she finished her milk. "Do you get scared?"

Ember nodded. "Yes. And anyone who tells you they're never afraid are liars. Everyone is scared of something."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Me? Too much. It's getting better, but... the thing I'm most afraid of is losing the people I care about. I'm afraid that one day they'll stop liking me, or start hating me. That they'll leave me."

George looked thoughtful for a long moment, then spoke in a timid voice. "I'm scared that my mum and dad will want me to go away."

Ember moved a little closer, hesitated for a moment, and then pulled the boy into a hug. To her surprise, the boy quickly clung to her. "Maybe you should tell them that. I think they're scared of losing you. They don't know how to help, and they're afraid that because of that, someone will think they're not doing a good job, and take you away from them."

"But I don't want to go!" The boy sobbed.

"I'll do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen. I promise."

It was at that moment that the bedroom door opened, and the Doctor and Alex entered. The father saw his son clinging to Ember and frowned. "Is everything alright?"

"He's afraid, but it's okay." Ember moved to stand, guiding the boy to his father. "Now, what are we doing?"

"Going to open the cupboard." The Doctor said, moving so that he was stood in front of the small doors. George moved behind his father and jumped when the sound of the lift rattled outside.

The Doctor slowly unlocked the cupboard before flinging the doors open, stepping back. But whatever he was expecting didn't happen; it looked like an ordinary cupboard, with clothes on hangers and toys at the bottom, including a wooden doll house. "I don't understand it. It has to be the cupboard. The readings from the sonic screwdriver, they were..."

He trailed off, looking at Ember, who nodded, and then he ran out of the room. He came back with the photo album he'd been looking through.

"How old is George, Alex?" He asked.

"What? How old?"

"Yes. How old is George?"

"Well, I told you. Just turned eight."

"So you remember when he was born, then?"

"Of course."

"Course you do. How could you not?" The Doctor opened the album and show him a photo of him and his wife. "You and Claire. Christmas Eve, 2002, right?"

Alex blinked at the photo. "What? Uh, yeah..."

"Couple of weeks before George was born. Tell me about the day he arrived. Must have been wonderful."

"Well, it was the best day of my..." Alex paused, looking confused for a long moment. "... life."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

"You don't sound sure."

"What are you trying to say?" The father was getting more confused and frustrated. "Look, I don't like this. I've told you before, I want you to go."

The Doctor noticed. "What's the matter, Alex?"

"I can't... Oh, don't... Oh, this is scary..."

"No, Alex, this is scary." The Doctor showed them another photo. "Claire with baby George. Newborn, yes?"

"Yes."

"Less than a month after Christmas."

"So?"

"So look." The Doctor went back to the first photo. "Look. Claire's not pregnant."

That made Alex look. "What?"

"Not pregnant."

"Well, of course not. Claire can't have kids!"

The Doctor looked at him. "Say that again."

"We tried everything. She was desperate. As much IVF as we could afford, but..." then it clicked, and Alex looked shocked. "Claire can't have kids. How... How can I have forgotten that?"

George stepped back, getting closer to Ember as the Doctor turned to him. "Who are you, George?"

"It's not possible." Alex murmured. "This isn't..."

The Doctor could see the boy start to shake. "George?"

The toys on the floor began to shake, and the bedside lamp glowed more brightly. Suddenly, the cupboard doors - which had been closed - burst open and a white light flooded out, immediately grabbing the Doctor and Alex and trying to pull them toward the cupboard.

Ember moved forward to help, but was stopped when George wrapped his arms around her waist.

"George! George, what's going on?" The Doctor yelled over the noise. "Are you doing it?"

"What's happening?" Alex cried.

George hid his face in Ember's hip, muttering just loud enough for her to hear. "Please save me from the monsters. Please save me from the monsters..."

The Doctor was pulled closer to the cupboard, unable to find anything to hold on to. "George, no!"

"Please save me from the monsters..."

Ember wanted to help, but that would mean pushing George away, which might have hurt him. Instead she yelled. "Doctor! It's going to be alright! But beware of dolls!"

"Please save me from the monsters!"

The Doctor vanished into the cupboard, and Alex wasn't far behind. The cupboard doors slammed shut, and everything settled.

Ember felt that familiar anger rise up at the thought of the Doctor in danger, but when she looked down at the boy who'd caused it, it ebbed. It wasn't his fault; he was simply frightened. "George, it's okay. The monsters aren't coming to get you."

The boy slowly pulled his tears face from her hip, looking at the room and the sudden lack to two people. "... did I make them go away?"

"... yes." Ember said. She couldn't lie to him. "But I know why. They were beginning to scare you, so what do you do with things that scare you?"

"Put then in the cupboard." George said, looking at the cupboard. "I didn't mean to..."

Ember nodded. "I know. Okay, we just need to take deep breaths. Now, I'm gonna play psychic, okay? I bet I can guess what you're supposed to do when you put scary things in the cupboard."

George looked up at her as she gently guided him to the bed. "You can?"

"Yep. After something scary goes in the cupboard, you..." She paused dramatically, as though thinking hard. "Turn on the lights five times. Am I right?"

"Yes..."

Ember stood and moved to the light switch on the wall, counting it off as she flicked the switch on and off. "One, two, three, four, five. There we go."

The boy was still shaking when she returned to the bedside. "If mum can't have kids... where did I come from?"

"You know when you said 'please save me from the monsters'?" The brunette continued when George nodded. "Well, when you did that, we heard you, and we came to help you. Now, your mum and dad couldn't have children of their own, so you know what they did? They asked. They closed their eyes and said 'please give us a child to love'. And guess who heard that?" She lightly tapped his nose. "You."

"Me?"

"Yes. You heard them wish for a child of their own, and you came to help them. You made them so happy that they forgot about the thing that made them sad, because it didn't matter anymore. They had you."

"... but dad remembers now. Won't he hate me?"

Ember shook her head. "Do you know what's making them sad right now?" The boy shook his head. "They're sad because you're sad. You're frightened, and they didn't know who could help. And then they were afraid that someone will think that they are the ones making you sad, and will come and take you away. No parent wants to see their child so scared and sad, and it hurts when they don't know how to help."

"... I don't want to be scared." George admitted finally.

"I know. And I'm sorry, but fear is a part of who we are. Remember what I said before? Being brave isn't about not being afraid."

_"George!"_ The Doctor's voice echoed from the cupboard. _"George, you're the only one who can stop this, but you have to believe. You have to believe. You have to know you're safe!"_

George shook his head, covering his ears with his hands.

_"I can't save you from the monsters. Only you can. George, listen to me!"_

Ember moved to kneel in front of the boy, gently taking his hands away from his ears. "George, he's right. You created a world where you can stash your fears, inside that cupboard. Only you can stop the monsters, and save your father and the Doctor."

_"George! George, you have to face your fears! You have to face them now. You have to open the cupboard, or we'll all be trapped here forever in a living death. George!"_

George squeezes his eyes shut. "I don't want to open the cupboard..."

_"George, listen to me. George! George, listen to me. George!"_

Ember didn't look back, focusing on the child because something told her she _had_ to. "George, monsters only stick around because they think they can win. They're like the bully, thinking they're better, until one day you stand up and say 'No, I won't let you stay anymore.' You can do this, but you don't have to do it alone."

George slowly opened his eyes, tears streaming as he looked at her. "... will you stay with me?"

"I will for as long as you need me." Ember stood, holding out her hand to him. "Will you help me stop the monsters?"

George stared at her hand for a moment, and then he reached out and took it, allowing her to lead him toward the cupboard.

_"Please! George, you have to end this! End this. End it. End it now!"_ The Doctor's voice sounded panicked.

George, after feeling Ember squeeze his hand, reached out with his other hand and opened the door.

There was a flash of light, and then the two were somewhere else. It looked like an old, Victorian house with no lights, and on the staircase just in front of and above them was the Doctor, Alex and Rory, along with several peg dolls.

The Doctor spotted them over the banister and smiled. "George. George, you did it. You did it. Hey, it's okay. It's all okay now. Everything's going to be fine."

The dolls moved, creaking loudly, and started going down the stairs, towards George and Ember. The brunette moved to stand in front of the boy, holinding her hand out, but she didn't use her powers. She couldn't: There was no telling how many of these dolls were actual people, and her fire would destroy them.

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor said before leaning over the banister again. "George, you created this whole world. This whole thing. You can smash it. You can destroy it."

George shook his head, grabbing the back of Ember's jacket.

"Something's holding him back. Something's holding him back. Something..."

"He thinks he's going to be taken away!" Ember yelled, backing away from the dolls.

The Doctor looked at the father, who was holding a huge pair of purple scissors. "That's what did it. That's what the trigger was. He thought you were rejecting him. He thought he wasn't wanted, that someone was going to come and take him away."

"Well, we, we talked about it."

"Yeah, and he heard you, Alex. A Tenza's sole function is to fit in, to be wanted, and you were rejecting him."

"We just couldn't cope!" Alex said. "We needed help!"

"Yes, but George didn't know that. He thought you were rejecting him. He still thinks it."

Alex looked at the boy hiding behind the brunette. "But how can we keep him? How can we? He's not..."

"Not what?"

"...He's not human."

"Should that matter?!" Ember snapped. The dolls were getting too close for comfort, though they didn't seem interested in turning her into a doll. One of them put its arm around her and pulled her away from the boy. "You asked for a child and he answered!"

George was beyond terrified, and cried out the first thing he could think of. "Dad!"

Alex shoved the scissors to the Doctor before he ran down the stairs, shoving aside the dolls as he went. George was almost engulfed by them when the father pushed through and gathered him up, and then the dolls stopped moving again.

"Whatever you are, whatever you do... you're my son," he said, holdubg the boy close, "and I will never, _ever_ send you away. Oh, George. Oh, my little boy..."

"Dad." George squeezes his eyes shut and hugged his father.

"My little boy..."

"Dad..."

Ember was able to look up and catch the Doctor's eyes, returning his grin, before everything went white.

* * *

A short time later, by the next morning, everything was okay again. The Doctor and Ember were with Alex and George in the kitchen, getting breakfast ready.

"Right, stay still. Still as a statue, or I'll come and get you." Alex said, going to the boy with a wet wipe. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Hey, close eyes."

Ember heard the front door open and close, along with a woman calling. She smiled as the Doctor waved a packet of kippers at the boy sat on the counter, and then a woman with curly hair entered the kitchen.

"Hello!" The Doctor said when he saw the woman. "You're Claire, I expect. Claire," he paused to give the woman a couple of air kisses, "how'd you feel about kippers?"

Claire looked puzzled, taking in the man in a tweed jacket and a woman wearing a burnt jacke. "Er who..."

"They sent someone about George." Alex said. "It's all sorted."

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, we had a great time, didn't we?"

"Yeah." George said, biting into a slice of toast.

"See? He's fine."

Claire looked surprised now. "What, just like that?"

"Yes." The Doctor net her gaze evenly. "Trust me."

Ember smiled. "He just needed to remember that he isn't alone, and that his parents love him. After that, he can scare away the monsters now."

She shared a wink with the boy.

After finishing making the breakfast, the Doctor and Ember made their leave. They'd just gotten a few feet away when Alex came out after them. "Doctor, wait..."

"Sorry, yes." The Doctor said, going back to shake the man's hand. "Bye."

"No, no, you can't just. I mean..."

"It's sorted. You sorted it. Good man, Alex. Proud of you."

"What, that's it?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Well, apart from making sure he eats his greens and getting him into a good school, yes."

Alex shook his head. "But is he going to, I don't know, sprout another head or three eyes or something?"

"He's one of the Tenza, remember. He'll adapt perfectly now." The Doctor saw the boy appear and cheered. "Hey! Be whatever you want him to be." He turned to walk away, only to turn back. "We might pop back around puberty, mind you. Always a funny time."

Ember knelt down in front of George. "And you. What's being brave mean?"

"Being afraid, but keep going on," the boy replied, wrapping his arms around her neck. "Thank you..."

Ember was surprised at the action, but then she hugged him back. "You're very welcome." She then pulled back and stood up, facing Alex. "We'll send someone to have a talk with you. Like I said earlier, I think you guys deserve financial aid. We know some people who can help with that."

She and the Doctor waved as they walked away, letting the family begin their morning. They were waiting for the lift when the Doctor took Ember's left hand and squeezed it.

"You did great." He said. He was absently rubbing her left ring finger, but neither of them seemed to notice it.

Ember shrugged. "Well, I'm not good with kids, but needs must."

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I think you'd make a great mother."

The two made their way to the ground floor and out into the car park, where they found Amy and Rory sitting on a low wall waiting for them.

"Come on, you two. Things to do, people to see, whole civilisations to save." The Doctor said, moving to sit between the couple and pulling Ember onto his lap. "You feeling okay?"

"Er, I think so."

"Well, it's good to be all back together again, in the flesh. Come on." He ignored Ember's eye roll when he got up and pulled her with him, leading them back to the Tardis. "Now, did someone mention something about planets and history and stuff?"

"Yeah." Rory said, following them up to the console.

"Where do you want to go?"

Amy paused. "Uh..."

"Mind's gone blank."

"Well, I have just been turned into a wooden dolly."

"Excuses, excuses..."

Rory cut in to spare his wife. "It's tough, though. It's like being given three wishes. The whole universe?"

"Or universes. Ooo, three wishes, like Ali Baba. How about that?"

Ember was about to make a suggestion when she felt the burning sensation start up. "Looks like I'm off..."

She looked up, and saw that the Doctor's smile had dropped, looking at her sadly. Before she could ask, everything went white, and she jumped.

* * *

And there we go! A bit lighter and not as serious as the other chapters, but like I said, she needed a break, especially for what's coming now.

Next Time: Ember is in for another emotional roller coaster ride, starting with another encounter with River. Can she change things? _Should_ she? Stay tuned!


	10. Chapter Ten: Silence In The Library

And a long awaited chapter! Time to go to The Library!

On a side note; someone has finally pointed out something. I'm not sure how many people have noticed yet, but I'm sure many of you have. It's another clue, after all!

* * *

Chapter Ten: Silence In The Library

* * *

Ember looked around, taking in the view from what looked like a Greek or Roman balcony, though the effect was ruined with the computer to the side of the balcony. As far as the eye could see, there were skyscrapers and train tracks similar to the DLR in London. The sun reflected off the glass as dusk began to creep up.

The brunette smiled at the beautiful sight, but then it fell when she spotted that the balcony was made into shelves that had books on them, as well as bookshelves lining the buildings, and she realised with a start where she was. "Oh no..."

It was then that she heard a familiar voice from behind her, as two people appeared at the top of the steps.

"The Library." She recognised the voice of the Tenth Doctor. "So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big 'The'.

"It's like a city." That was Donna.

"It's a world. Literally, a world." The Doctor caught sight of Ember and grinned. "Ember! There you are!"

The brunette gave them a small smile as they met her at the bottom of the steps, trying to hide her worry.

The Doctor saw right through it. "Are you okay?"

"Yea, it's just..." Ember hesitated. "It's gonna be a rough night..."

"Really?" Donna asked. "Why do you say that?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Spoilers, Donna. Ember, how bad will it get?"

Ember hesitated again. "It's gonna look really bad, but it does get a bit better after, I guess..."

"Then we'll just do our best, won't we?" The Doctor said, pulling her into a one-armed hug. He didn't miss the flinch she tried to hide, but let it off in favour of looking out over the balcony at the view. "The whole core of the planet is the index computer. Biggest hard drive ever. And up here, every book ever written. Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand new editions, specially printed." He licked his finger and held it up. "We're near the equator, so this must be biographies! I love biographies!"

Donna had jumped at his shout and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, very you. Always a death at the end."

"You need a good death. Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size." The Doctor saw Donna pick up a book and he snatched it out of her hands. "Way-ay! Spoilers!"

"What?"

The Doctor gestured at the books. "These books are from your future. You don't want to read ahead. Spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end."

"Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?"

"I try to keep you away from major plot developments. Which, to be honest, I seem to be very bad at, because you know what? This is the biggest library in the universe. So where is everyone? It's silent."

Ember let him pull her with him to the computer terminal, using his Sonic to start it up. Donna followed as she spoke. "The library?"

"The planet. The whole planet."

"Maybe it's a Sunday."

Ember smiled. "He doesn't like Sundays."

"I never land on Sundays." The Doctor agreed. "Sundays are boring."

"Well, maybe everyone's really, really quiet."

"Yeah, maybe. But they'd still show up on the system."

Donna rolled her eyes again. "Doctor, why are we here? Really, why?"

"Oh, you know, just passing."

"No, seriously. It was all 'let's hit the beach', then suddenly we're in a library. Why?"

The Doctor was messing around with the terminal when something caught his eye. "Now that's interesting."

"What?"

"Scanning for life forms." The Doctor explained, gesturing to the screen as it displayed the scan before stopping and showing the result: FILTERED HUMANIOD LIFEFORM SCAN: 3. COMPLETE. "If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids. You know, your book readers, few limbs and a face, apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada. See? Nobody home. But if I widen the parameters to any kind of life." He pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, and the screen changed to read 'ERROR 1,000,000,000,000 LIFEFORM NUMBER CAPPED AT MAXIMUM RECORD'. "A million, million. Gives up after that. A million, million."

Donna looked around as though she'd be able to see the lifeforms. "But there's nothing here. There's no one."

"And not a sound. A million, million life forms, and silence in the Library."

"But there's no one here. There's just books. I mean, it's not the books, is it? I mean, it can't be the books, can it? I mean, books can't be alive."

The two of them looked at a book resting innocently on the balcony railing, missing how Ember stepped back with a smirk, and slowly reached for it as though they expected it to bite at them. They were just about to touch the book when a female computerised voice spoke, making them jump. _"Welcome."_

Donna took a breath. "That came from there."

"Yeah." The Doctor said, turning to the steps and pausing when he saw Ember standing there trying not to giggle. "Oh, you knew, didn't you?"

Ember shrugged. "Loved that bit on tv. Even better in person. If you'd jumped any higher, you'd have gone over the balcony."

The Doctor pointed at her like he was going to scold her, only for Donna to interrupt by laughing. "You dumbo!"

"Hey, you jumped too!"

Ember shook her head as she turned and made her way up the steps, knowing they'd follow. A short walk brought them to where the Tardis was parked in a spacious room that had a curved desk in the centre and what looked like a vaguely humanoid sculpture that was more like a lump with a smaller lump attached at it by a small, metal pole.

As the trio approached, the smaller lump turned as if on a swivel to reveal a very realistic human face on the front; that of a dark-skinned woman. It looked at them and spoke with the same voice they'd heard earlier. _"__I am Courtesy Node seven one zero slash aqua. Please enjoy the Library and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers, regardless of species or hygiene taboo."_

"That face, it looks real." Donna said.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." The Doctor tried to wave it off. Ember knew why; it _was_ a real face.

"A statue with a real face, though? It's a hologram or something, isn't it?"

"No, but really, it's fine."

_"Additional."_ The Node spoke again. _"There follows a brief message from the Head Librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by a Felman Lux Automated Decency Filter. Message follows. 'Run. For God's sake, run. No way is safe. The Library has sealed itself, we can't... Oh, they're here. Argh. Slarg. Snick.' Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm. units for the comfort of other readers."_

The Doctor stepped closer. "So that's why we're here. Any other messages, same date stamp?"

_"One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of five zero eleven-"_

"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine. Just play it."

_"Message follows. 'Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember, if you want to live, count the shadows.' Message ends."_

That made the Doctor looked around warily. "Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay out of the shadows."

"Why, what's in the shadows?" Donna asked as the Doctor turned to walk to the doors opposite the ones they'd just come from, keeping Ember at his side with his hand in hers. The redhead was quick to follow.

"Should we leave?" The Doctor asked Ember.

Ember shook her head as they entered a long corridor that was made up of book shelves going higher than the naked eye could see. "As much as I want to say yes, we can't. We need to be here."

"So, we weren't just in the neighbourhood." Donna said, having heard them.

"Yeah, I kind of, sort of lied a bit. I got a message on the psychic paper." The Doctor admitted, getting out the paper to show her the message:_ 'The Library, come as soon as you can. X'_. "What do you think? Cry for help?"

Donna took the paper and waved it. "Cry for help with a kiss?"

The Doctor took the paper back. "Oh, we've all done that."

"Who's it from?"

"No idea."

"So why did we come here? Why did you-"

"Um, guys?" Ember suddenly said, unintentionally stealing the Doctor's part as she noticed the lights going out at one end of the corridor, more going out so that darkness came towards them.

"What's happening?"

"Run!" The Doctor yelled, grabbing Ember by the hand and taking off in the other direction, quickly followed by Donna. They ran to the nearest doors, only to get stopped when they didn't open. "Come on!"

"What, is it locked?" Donna asked, shoving the door.

"Jammed. The wood's warped!"

"Well, sonic it! Use the thingy!"

"I can't, it's wood!"

"What, it doesn't do wood?"

Ember looked down the corridor, feeling dread creep up when she saw the shadows getting closer. "Guys, we don't have time! Just kick it!"

"Oh, get out of the way!" Donna let Ember pull the Doctor to the side so she could raise her foot and give the door a sharp kick, knocking them open.

The trio quickly piled into what seemed to be a rotunda, and the Doctor was quick to close the doors while Ember passed him a thick book to slip into the handles to block it.

The Doctor turned and leaned his back against the door, only to blink when he spotted something; a large, floating sphere of metal that had a camera lens sticking out of the front to look right at them. "Oh. Hello! Sorry to burst in on you like this. Okay if we stop here for a bit?"

Donna and Ember had turned to look as well, blinking when the lens on the sphere closed and it dropped to the floor with a dull thud.

"What is it?" Donna asked.

"Security camera." The Doctor replied as he approached and nudged the sphere with his foot. "Switched itself off." He took out his Sonic and knelt, picking up the sphere and working on turning it back on. "Nice door skills, Donna."

"Yeah, well, you know, boyfriends. Sometimes you need the element of surprise. What was that? What was after us? I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?"

"Possibly."

"No." Ember said firmly, making the redhead look at her. "Big no. We didn't run from a power cut: we ran from something that _made _the lights go out. Probably broke the bulbs or cut the wires."

Donna could tell by the brunette's face that things were serious. "Are we safe here?"

"Of course we're safe. There's a little shop." The Doctor said, pointing to sign on a window that said 'The Shop'. The lens on the camera opened, along with a small panel. "Gotcha!"

"No!" Ember suddenly said, running up and yanking the Sonic out of his hand. "It's hurting her!"

The Doctor was about to ask who 'her' was, when he spotted that the small panel was actually an LED board, and it was now scrolling the words _'No, stop it. No. No'_ across it. "Oooh, I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's alive."

Donna rolled her eyes as the Doctor gingerly put the sphere back on the floor. "You said it was a security camera."

"It is. It's an alive one."

Ember looked down at the sphere as more words appeared across the tiny screen._ 'The Library is breached. Others are coming.'_

"Others? What's it mean, others?" Donna asked before she walked over to a node that stood on the other side of the rotunda. "Excuse me. What does it mean, others?"

"That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you." The Doctor called.

"So why's it got a face?"

The node had turned its 'head' to reveal a white, male face. _"This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death."_

Donna's eyes widened. "It's a real face?"

_"It has been actualised individually for you from the many facial aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please enjoy."_

"It chose me a dead face it thought I'd like? That statue's got a real dead person's face on it!"

The Doctor shrugged as he moved to the woman's side. Ember opted to stay beside the camera. "It's the fifty first century. That's basically like donating a park bench."

"It's donating a face!" Donna argued, stepping back away from the node.

"No, wait, no!" The Doctor quickly grabbed Donna by the waist to stop her from stepping into a triangular, pointed shadow that was on the floor behind her.

"Oi! Hands!"

"The shadow. Look."

"What about it?"

"Count the shadows."

"One. There, counted it. One shadow."

"Yeah... But what's casting it?" The Doctor noticed that there was nothing in the room that would have a shadow shaped like that. An idea of what it could be came to his mind and filled him with dread. "Oh, I'm thick! Look at me, I'm old and thick. Head's too full of stuff. I need a bigger head!"

Donna noticed a light in an adjoining corridor was flickering, threatening to go out at any moment. "The power must be going..."

"This place runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun."

"Then why is it dark?"

"It's not dark." Ember said from where she was stood right in the middle of the rotunda. She knew she'd stolen the Doctor's line again, but she couldn't help it.

Donna had turned to look at her, only to spot something that made her pause. "That shadow. It's gone."

"We need to get back to the Tardis." The Doctor said. Ember had said they were needed here, but he wasn't willing to risk the lives of two people he cared about.

"Why?"

"Because that shadow hasn't gone: It's moved."

_"Reminder."_ The node suddenly spoke. _"The Library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The Library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The Library has been breached..."_

It continued even as the trio tuned it out, especially when a set of doors on the far side of the room suddenly burst open. In what seemed to be a bright light, the trio could just make out a figure wearing a pure white spacesuit. It was followed by five others as it walked right up to the Doctor and lifted a hand, adjusting the filter on the front of the helmet so that they could see inside. Only Ember recognised the face: River Song.

"Hello, Sweeties," She said with a smile.

"Get out." The Doctor said without missing a beat.

Donna looked at him. "Doctor..."

"All of you. Turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away." The Doctor moved to the centre so everyone could see him. "Tell your grandchildren you came to The Library and lived. They won't believe you."

River didn't lose her smile. "Pop your helmets, everyone. We've got breathers."

A woman with curly hair was the first to speak. "How do you know they're not androids?"

"Because I've dated androids. They're rubbish."

The next was a balding man who gave off a pompous aura even before he spoke. "Who is this? You said we were the only expedition. I paid for exclusives."

"I lied." River replied, having taken off her helmet to show her curly hair tied back into a ponytail. "I'm always lying. Bound to be others."

The man turned to a young woman with long black hair tied into a side ponytail. "Miss Evangelista, I want to see the contracts."

River ignored him in favour of speaking to the Doctor. "You came through the north door, yeah? How was that, much damage?"

"Please, just leave." The Doctor said. "I'm asking you seriously and properly, just leave-Hang on. Did you say expedition?"

"My expedition." The man replied. "I funded it."

The Doctor groaned. "Oh, you're not, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists."

"Got a problem with archaeologists?" River asked.

"I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists."

"Ah." River held out her hand. "Professor River Song, archaeologist."

"River Song, lovely name." The Doctor replied, shaking her hand before guiding her toward the doors they'd come from. "As you're leaving, and you're leaving now, you need to set up a quarantine beacon. Code wall the planet, the whole planet. Nobody comes here, not ever again. Not one living thing, not here, not ever-Stop right there!" He suddenly called to the first woman, who was about to step into the shadows. "What's your name?"

"Anita."

The Doctor ran to her side and pulled her back to the group. "Anita, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows til you're safely back in your ship. Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, very scared." The whole group looked at him in confusion, with the exception of River, who was still smiling. "No, bit more scared than that." Evangelista tried to put on a scared face, but it looked more like a pout. "Okay, do for now. You. Who are you?"

One of the other two men in the group blinked. "Er, Dave."

"Okay, Dave..."

"Oh, well, Other Dave, because that's Proper Dave the pilot." He pointed to the other man even as the Doctor was pulling him to the door they'd come from. "He was the first Dave, so when we-"

"Other Dave," The Doctor interjected, not interested in the backstory as he moved the man to look down the corridor. "The way you came, does it look the same as before?"

"Yeah. Oh, it's a bit darker."

"How much darker?"

"Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now."

The Doctor frowned. "Seal up this door. We'll find another way out."

"We're not looking for a way out." The balding man said. "Miss Evangelista?"

The young girl stepped over to the trio without spacesuits, holding out three sheets of paper that had a lot of writing on them. "I'm Mister Lux's personal... everything. You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experience inside the Library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation."

"Right, give it here." The Doctor said, taking two of the sheets and handing one to Ember.

Donna took the last one. "Yeah, lovely. Thanks."

In unison, the three tore the papers in half and tossed them away. Ember couldn't help a smile; she loved that bit.

Lux didn't look as entertained. "My family built this library. I have rights."

"You have a mouth that won't stop." River cut in before she looked at the Doctor. "You think there's danger here?"

"Something came to this library and killed everything in it. Killed a whole world." The Doctor pointed out. "Danger? Could be."

"That was a hundred years ago. The Library's been silent for a hundred years. Whatever came here's long dead."

"Bet your life?"

"Always."

"Don't." Ember said, making the two look at her as she stepped up to River. "Don't bet your life. It's precious, and you should treasure it."

River smiled gently as she took Ember's hands in her own. "It's worth the risk for you."

The Doctor looked at the two, curiosity warring with the bubble of jealously that was creeping up from his stomach.

"What are you doing?" Lux said, having noticed Other Dave sealing the door they'd come through.

"He said seal the door." The man replied.

"Torch." The Doctor called.

"You're taking orders from him?" Lux asked, even as he held up a torch for the Doctor to take.

Which the Time Lord did, leaving Lux staring at his empty hand in confusion. "Spooky, isn't it?" He shined the torch into the shadows, speaking as Donna and Ember moved to his sides. "Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong, because it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada."

"What's Vashta Nerada?" Donna asked.

"It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark. Lights!" The Doctor turned to the group. "That's what we need, lights. You got lights?"

"What for?" River asked.

Ember moved to sit in the middle of the rotunda. "They're not fond of lights."

The Doctor nodded in agreement as he pulled off his brown trench coat. "Form a circle. Safe area. Big as you can, lights pointing out."

"Oi." River turned to Anita. "Do as he says."

Lux was looking more annoyed by the minute. "You're not listening to this man?"

"Apparently I am. Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure, then help Anita. Mister Lux, put your helmet back on, block the visor. Proper Dave, find an active terminal. I want you to access the Library database. See what you can find about what happened here a hundred years ago." She moved to a corner that was still lit, taking off her backpack and putting it on the table. "Pretty boy, pretty girl, you're with me. Step into my office."

Ember blinked. Did she mean her? She looked over at River, who smiled and crooked her finger in a 'come here' gesture. With a shrug, the brunette pushed herself to her feet and walked over.

Lux had by now put his helmet on, though he didn't block the visor. "Professor Song, why am I the only one wearing my helmet?"

"I don't fancy you." River said coyly as Ember reached her. "So you know me, then? And not just from your foreknowledge?"

Ember nodded. "We've only met twice so far. When you first became River Song, and before that it was NASA, with the Silence."

River paused. "Ah. I suppose you're wondering about that kiss I left you with..."

"It crossed my mind a few times, yeah."

"Well, if it's any consolation, you're quite the kisser."

Ember blinked. "I am? And how would you know that?"

"Spoilers." River winked at her before she looked across the room to see that the Doctor had gone to help Proper Dave, his glasses on. "Pretty boy! With me, I said."

The Doctor looked around for whoever that title belonged to, only to blink when he saw Ember already with River and Donna staring at him meaningfully. "Oh, _I'm_ pretty boy?"

"Yes." Donna said before she paused. "Ooo, that came out a bit quick."

"Pretty?"

"Meh." Donna tilted her head. "And in case your dumbo brain missed it, Ember is pretty girl."

The Doctor filed that away for later, moving across the room and addressing the others as he passed. "Don't let your shadows cross. Seriously, don't even let them touch. Any of them could be infected."

River took out an old, battered book from her backpack. Its cover was blue with eight squares; a design similar to the Tardis. She looked up as the Doctor reached them. "Thanks."

"For what?" He asked.

"The usual. For coming when I call."

"Oh, that was you?"

"You're doing a very good job, acting like you don't know me. I'm assuming there's a reason."

The Doctor glanced at Ember. "A fairly good one, actually."

"Okay, shall we do diaries, then? Where are we this time?" River picked up the blue book and looked closely at the Doctor before she started flicking through the pages. "Uh, going by your face, I'd say it's early days for you, yeah? So, uh... crash of the Byzantium. Have we done that yet?" She looked at him, but he only looked back with a neutral expression. "Obviously ringing no bells. Right. Oh, picnic at Asgard. Have we done Asgard yet?"

"River..." Ember began, only to trail off. How could she tell the woman that the man she loved didn't know her yet?

"Obviously not. Blimey, very early days, then. Whoo, life with a time traveller. Never knew it could be such hard work." River paused to look at the Doctor again, to _really_ look. "Look at you. Oh, you're young."

"I'm really not, you know." The Doctor replied with a smirk.

"No, but you are. Your eyes." She reached out as though to touch his cheek, but to Ember's surprise, she didn't make contact: she stopped barely an inch away even as the Time Lord seemed to lean back a little to avoid it. "You're younger than I've ever seen you."

Realisation dawned on the Doctor's face. "You've seen me before, then?"

River dropped her hand, suddenly saddened. "Doctor... please tell me you know who I am."

"...Who are you?"

Ember bit her lip as she saw the crushed look on River's face. Even on tv, this was hard to watch, mainly because it was so obvious how much River cared for the Doctor.

A loud ringing - like a phone - suddenly went off on the room, echoing around them. The Doctor immediately turned away and moved to investigate. Ember moved to River's side and put her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I should have said something, maybe warned you..."

River wiped her eyes before any tears could fall, giving the brunette a small smile. "At least you've met me. That would have been too much at once if both of you didn't know me."

Ember nodded. "At least now you don't have to worry about it anymore. Here's a hint; he'll trust you soon, but you might have to give him a bit of a push. You know what he's like about people knowing his future when he doesn't."

"Well, except with you. He trusts you with his future more than anyone."

"Hmm." Ember looked away, bringing a hand up to touch the scar on her face. "Can't see why, considering I've already let him down once, and I don't know how many more times by this point in his timeline."

She walked away then, completely missing the concern River had on her face, to go back to the Doctor's side as he tried to get the terminal to work. She reached him just as the words 'Access Denied' flashed on the screen.

"Okay, doesn't like that. Let's try something else." The Doctor said, tapping at the keyboard. The screen changed to show what looked like a normal front room on Earth. "Okay, here it comes. Hello?"

To their surprise, a little girl with long, brown hair wearing a purple top came into view. _"Hello. Are you in my television?"_

"Well, no, I'm, I'm sort of in space. Uh, I was trying to call up the data core of a triple grid security processor."

The girl blinked. _"Would you like to speak to my Dad?"_

"Dad or your Mum. That'd be lovely."

_"I know you!"_ The girl suddenly said. _"You're in my library."_

"Your library?"

_"The library's never been on the television before. What have you done?"_

"Uh, well, I just rerouted the interface..." the Doctor began, only to be cut off as the screen changed back to the one previous: 'Access Denied' flashing across again.

"What happened?" River asked, having joined them at the terminal. "Who was that?"

The Doctor shook his head as he ran to a terminal that was behind a desk on the other side of the rotunda. "I need another terminal. Keep working on those lights. We need those lights!"

"You heard him, people. Let there be light." River caught Ember's eyes and saw her gesture to the Doctor, so she followed the Time Lord, just in time to snatch her blue book from him as he picked it up. "Sorry, you're not allowed to see inside the book. It's against the rules."

"What rules?"

"Your rules. Ember gave me the heads up."

The Doctor looked over at the brunette, but before he could ask, books suddenly started flying off the shelves seemingly with a life of their own. "What's that? I didn't do that. Did you do that?"

"Not me!" Proper Dave said as the Doctor turned back to his screen, frowning at seeing the word 'CAL' above the 'Access Denied'.

"What's CAL?"

The books stopped flying, and Ember moved to the Doctor as Donna went to Evangelista. "Doctor, that girl is important to this Library. She's the key."

The Doctor looked at her after taking off his glasses, taking an extra moment to confirm that River was out of earshot. "And River? You've met her before?"

"Twice so far," Ember replied. "And before you ask, I can't tell you much about her. But she's going to prove herself trustworthy soon, I promise."

Before the Doctor could reply, books started flying again. River dodged one with ease as she spoke. "What's causing that? Is it the little girl?"

The Doctor quickly shielded Ember from a flying hardback, letting it hit him in the side instead, though it appeared that he wasn't fazed by it. "But who is the little girl? What's she got to do with this place? How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's CAL?"

"Ask Mister Lux."

"CAL, what is it?"

The man looked almost smug. "Sorry, you didn't sign your personal experience contracts."

The Doctor didn't look impressed as he hopped over the desk and walked up to the man. "Mister Lux. Right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a patent?"

"I'm protecting my family's pride!"

"Well, funny thing, Mister Lux. I don't want to see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important."

"Then why don't you sign his contract?" River asked, smiling when he looked at her. "I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you."

The Doctor looked like he wanted to ask something, but seemed to change his mind. If Ember trusted River, he'd go with it. For now. "Okay, okay, okay. Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"

Ember flinched as a throb of pain went through her head. It felt like she was about to have a vision, but she didn't want it to happen yet for reason she was suddenly struggling to remember.

"There was a message from the Library." River explained, not noticing the brunette's flinch. "Just one. 'The lights are going out.' Then the computer sealed the planet, and there was nothing for a hundred years."

"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in." Lux added.

"Um, excuse me?" Evangelista spoke shyly, having noticed that a passage had opened near her.

"Not just now."

River went to her bag. "There was one other thing in the last message."

"That's confidential!"

"I trust this man with my life, with everything."

"You've only just met him."

"No, he's only just met me." River corrected. "And Ember knows me better than anyone."

The mentioned brunette moved to lean on the table beside her as her head throbbed again. Her vision was starting to turn white, but she tried desperately to fight it off. There was something she was supposed to be looking out for. But what was it?

"Er, this might be important, actually." Evangelista tried again.

Lux didn't even look in her direction. "In a moment."

River had pulled out a small device from her bag, showing it to the Doctor. "This is a data extract that came with the message."

"'Four thousand and twenty two saved'." The Doctor read. "'No survivors.'"

"Four thousand and twenty two. That's the exact number of people who were in the Library when the planet was sealed."

Donna stepped closer to look herself. "But how can four thousand and twenty two people have been saved if there were no survivors?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

"And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies." Lux pointed out.

Ember suddenly gasped loud enough for them to hear as her view cleared and the reason she was trying to fight off the vision became crystal clear. "No!"

Before anyone could ask what was wrong, there was scream, coming from the newly opened passage. The Doctor took off immediately, grabbing Ember's hand along the way to keep her with him as the others followed. At the other end of the passage was what looked like a lecture hall, with books piled on every flat surface. Right in the centre was a chair, and in that chair was a skeleton in white, torn rags. The bones were picked clean, almost looking like a brand new prop.

"Everybody, careful." The Doctor said as they approached the skeleton. "Stay in the light."

"You keep saying that." Proper Dave said. "I don't see the point."

Ember gave him a hard look. "There's a very clear point sitting right there!"

"Who screamed?" The Doctor asked.

"Miss Evangelista."

"Where is she?"

"Miss Evangelista, please state your current..." River began speaking into the comm on the collar of her suit, only to pause when her own voice came back from something nearby. Everyone looked around for the source as she spoke again to pin it down. "Please state your current position..."

Ember moved closer to the skeleton and reached out, turning the collar so that a comm exactly like River's could be seen, with five green lights lit on it.

"It's her." River breathed. "It's Miss Evangelista."

Anita was as shocked as the rest of them. "We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?"

"It took a lot less than a few seconds." The Doctor said, taking Ember's hand and pulling her away from the remains.

"What did?"

Before anyone could ask, a new voice spoke. Everyone froze as they heard Evangelista's voice come from the comm the skeleton was wearing. _"Hello?"_

"Oh, I'm sorry, everyone." River said. "Uh, this isn't going to be pleasant. She's ghosting."

Donna looked at her in puzzlement. "She's what?"

_"Hello? Excuse me."_ Evangelista said, completely oblivious to the fact that her body was just bones now. One of the green lights went out, leaving four lit. _"I'm sorry. Hello? Excuse me."_

"That's... that's her, that's Miss Evangelista."

Dave shifted uncomfortably. "I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just... you know?"

"No," Ember said firmly, making them look at her. She was giving each of the crew a dark look. "You will hear what she has to say. You all owe her that, at least."

"This is her last moment." River said in agreement. "No, we can't. A little respect, thank you."

_"Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?" _The second ofthe five little lights went out with a slight buzz.

"But that's Miss Evangelista." Donna said, getting upset about hearing a dead woman's voice.

"It's a data ghost. She'll be gone in a moment." River pressed her comm so she could 'talk' to the dead woman. "Miss Evangelista, you're fine. Just relax. We'll be with you presently."

Donna looked at the Doctor. "What's a data ghost?"

"There's a neural relay in the communicator. Lets you send thought mail. That's it there." He pointed. "Those green lights. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. Like an afterimage."

"My grandfather lasted a day." Anita said. "Kept talking about his shoelaces."

"She's in there." Donna said.

Another light went out, leaving two lit_. "I can't see. I can't... Where am I?"_

"She's just brain waves now." Proper said said quietly. "The pattern won't hold for long."

"But, she's conscious. She's thinking."

_"I can't see, I can't... I don't know what I'm thinking..."_

"She's a footprint on the beach." The Doctor said gently. "And the tide's coming in."

_"Where's that woman? The nice woman. Is she there?"_

Lux blinked. "What woman?"

"She means..." Donna had to swallow a lump in her throat. "I think she means me."

_"Is she there? The nice woman..."_

"Yes, she's here. Hang on." River pressed a different button on her comm and nodded at Donna. "Go ahead. She can hear you."

_"Hello? Are you there?"_

The Doctor gave Donna a small nudge. "Help her."

"She's dead..."

"Yeah. Help her."

_"Hello? Is that the nice woman?"_

Donna hesitated, but at Ember's encouraging nod she stepped forward as the second to last green light went out. "Yeah. Hello. Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm here. You okay?"

_"What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."_

Ember looked pointedly at the Daves, Lux and Anita. They at last realised what she meant, and looked ashamed.

"Course I won't." Donna said, trying not to cry, or at least not to let it leak into her voice. "Course I won't tell them."

_"...Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."_

"I won't tell them. I said I won't."

_"...Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."_

"I'm not going to tell them."

_"...Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."_ Evangelista repeated again. The last green light began to flash on and off in an uneven pace.

"She's looping now." River said, her face solemn. "The pattern's degrading."

_"I can't think. I don't know, I... I... I... Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream..."_

"Does anybody mind if I...?"

_"Ice cream. Ice cream..."_ the comm was finally turned off by River, letting silence fall for a few moments.

"That was... that was horrible." Donna breathed after a moment, letting the Doctor put one hand on her shoulder while Ember took one of her hands. "That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen."

"No. It's just a freak of technology." River said, her clenched hand shaking as she held the communicator. "But whatever did this to her, whatever killed her... I'd like a word with that."

"I'll introduce you." The Doctor said, turning to go back to the passage. He'd let go Donna to grab Ember's hand, keeping her at his side so he could talk to her. "You were in pain just before she screamed. What happened?"

Ember shook her head. "A vision, I think. I was trying to fight it off because I knew something was about to happen, but I couldn't remember what it was until just before it happened."

The Doctor looked at her as they reached the rotunda. "You fought off a vision? You haven't done that for a while. Did you see anything?"

"No, I think I pushed it away, but it hurt to do it." Ember raised a hand to rub her temple. "I couldn't save her..."

The Doctor took both her hands and held them close to his chest. "Ember, you shouldn't fight the visions. If they come, you need to let them. It's important when you have them."

Ember shook her head again. "More important than saving a life?"

"Sadly, if it happens, it happens. The visions are important, Ember. Fighting them off could end up with seriously bad consequences if you don't see them."

Ember bit her lip, but nodded. She jumped when she felt a hand land on her shoulder, and looked to find that it was River. "I'm sorry, I couldn't save her..."

"I heard why." River replied. "And he's right. You shouldn't stop the visions. They've saved us more times than you know."

The Doctor looked at River, partly curious and partly suspicious. So this woman knows about Ember's visions? How much more did she know?

Ember squeezed his hand, making him look at her. "Spoilers. Now, we need to know what we're up against. We need something to show us where they are."

After a moment, the Doctor nodded and let her go, turning to the centre of the rotunda. "I'm going to need a packed lunch."

"Hang on." River said, going back to her bag. Ember moved to Donna to comfort her after the recent ordeal.

The Doctor knelt beside River as she moved her blue book so she could search better. "What's in that book?"

"Spoilers."

"Who are you?"

"Professor River Song, University of-"

"To me." The Doctor cut in. "To Ember. Who are you to us?"

"Again, spoilers." River finally found her packed lunch, holding the container out to him. "Chicken and a bit of salad. Knock yourself out."

The Doctor looked at her for another moment before he took the box and stood with a torch in his other hand. "Right, you lot. Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada."

As he worked to find their opponent, kneeling low to the ground while scanning the shadows with his Sonic, River moved to where Donna and Ember were waiting.

"You travel with them, don't you?" She asked Donna. "The Doctor and Ember, you travel with them."

Donna looked at her. "What of it?"

"Proper Dave, could you move over a bit?" The Doctor asked from where the man was sat on a table near the shadows.

"Why?"

"Over there by the water cooler. Thanks." The Doctor didn't answer his question.

Donna watched as the man did as he was told before she looked at River. "You know them, don't you?"

"Oh God, do I know that man and woman. We go way back, that man and me. Just not this far back."

"I'm sorry, what?"

River sighed. "He hasn't met me yet. I sent him a message, but it went wrong. It arrived too early. This is the Doctor in the days before he knew me. And he looks at me, he looks right through me and it shouldn't hurt me, but it does."

Ember took her hand. "I know, but it has to start somewhere."

"What are you talking about?" Donna asked, her voice getting louder as she spoke. "Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know him or don't you?"

"Donna!" The Doctor called. "Quiet, I'm working."

"Sorry."

River looked at the redhead in surprise. "Donna. You're Donna. Donna Noble."

"Yeah. Why?"

"I'm like Ember, except I don't jump around his timeline. I do know the Doctor, but in the future. His personal future."

"So why don't you know me? Where am I in the future?"

Ember shook her head. "Donna, Time Lords can live for hundreds of years. Much longer than a human can."

Donna looked thoughtful at that, but before she could ask, the Doctor suddenly jumped up.

"Okay, got a live one!" He declared as he opened the lunchbox and took out a chicken leg. "That's not darkness down those tunnels. This is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man eating swarm."

He threw the chicken into the shadows, and everyone stared in shock as only the bones hit the floor, picked clean in an instant.

"The piranhas of the air. The Vashta Nerada. Literally, the shadows that melt the flesh. Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."

Ember shrugged. "They've had a hundred years without meat. Probably starving, one generation feeding the next."

"What do you mean, most planets?" Donna asked. "Not Earth?"

The Doctor nodded. "Mmm. Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams."

"If they were on Earth, we'd know."

"Not necessarily," Ember said. "Every decade, people are discovering new species of insects or plants or other life. There's no knowing how many are on Earth that haven't been discovered yet."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Normally they live on road kill. But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark."

River looked around warily. "Every shadow?"

"No. But any shadow."

"So what do we do?"

"Can't do much of anything except stay out of the shadows." Ember said.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Daleks, aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada? Run. Just run."

"Run?" River repeated. "Run where?"

"This is an index point. There must be an exit teleport somewhere."

Lux shook his head as the Time Lord turned to him for answers. "Don't look at me, I haven't memorised the schematics."

"Doctor, the little shop." Donna said, pointing to the window that had 'The Shop' stamped on it. "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."

"You're right. Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop."

"Okay, let's move it." Proper Dave said, starting to walk.

The Doctor put a hand out to stop him. "Actually, Proper Dave? Could you stay where you are for a moment?"

"Why?"

"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. But you've got two shadows." Everyone looked down to see that he was right; Proper Dave had two shadows, stretching out at right angles to each other. "It's how they hunt. They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh."

"What do I do?" Proper Dave asked, fear creeping into his voice.

"You stay absolutely still, like there's a wasp in the room. Like there's a million wasps."

"We're not leaving you, Dave." River said.

"Course we're not leaving him. Where's your helmet? Don't point, just tell me."

"On the floor, by my bag."

Anita moved to get it, faltering slightly when the Doctor warned her. "Don't cross his shadow." She carefully picked it up and handed it to the Doctor to put on Dave's head. "Thanks. Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got."

"But, Doctor, we haven't got any helmets." Donna pointed out.

"Yeah, but we're safe anyway." The Doctor tried to wave it off.

"How are we safe?"

"We're not. That was a clever lie to shut you up. Professor, anything I can do with the suit?"

"What good are the damn suits?" Lux said. "Miss Evangelista was wearing her suit. There was nothing left!"

Ember turned and gave him a glare that made him shut up quickly. "Keep going. I'm looking for a reason to hit you."

"We can increase the mesh density. Dial it up four hundred percent." River suggested. "Make it a tougher meal."

"Okay." The Doctor got out his Sonic and used it on Proper Dave's suit. "Eight hundred percent. Pass it on."

River didn't take his Sonic when he offered it to her, holding up her own. "Gotcha."

The Doctor look bewildered as River began to Sonic the suits of the rest of the crew. "What's that?"

"It's a screwdriver."

"...It's sonic."

"Yeah, I know. Snap."

Ember held her head as another throb of pain went through it, this time letting the vision engulf her...

_The Doctor was talking to the Vashta Nerada that was using Proper Dave's suit to walk, trying to get answers. Instead of answering, they strung him along long enough for Other Dave to be consumed, and then they cornered the Time Lord. _

_He was too far away from the trap door that would have saved him, and he was taken..._

"Ember?" The Doctor's voice brought the brunette out of her vision, the man in front of her looking concerned. Donna and River had similar expressions while the others looked puzzled. "Was it a vision?"

"What did you see?" River asked.

The brunette shook her head to clear it, blaming the fogginess on her earlier refusal to see the vision. "Too far away... they don't talk..."

"What the hell is she on about?" Lux said, his voice muffled now that his helmet was on.

"Giving me a reason," Ember muttered as she glared at him again. She then looked at the Doctor. "Go. Donna's right about the exit. I have to stay here, keep a look out."

The Doctor looked reluctant, but then he nodded and took Donna's hand before heading to the shop.

Lux watched them go before he spoke again. "Why aren't we all going? We need to get out of here!"

Ember turned and walked right up to him, pressing her finger against his helmet where it would have poked his forehead. "Listen, you. I don't care about policies or patents, and you're one step away from me knocking you on your ass. And the only reason I haven't done that yet is because I know the _real_ reason you're here. But you better be warned; I mean it when I say that you're walking on very thin ice with me. Do we understand each other?"

Everyone was staring at the brunette in shock, clearly not having expected the young woman to be so... firey. The only one who wasn't surprised was River, who had a proud look her face.

Lux looked as surprised as the rest of them, blinking before he meekly nodded.

"Good." Ember stepped back and took a deep breath, pinching her nose between her thumb and index finger. "Now that that's settled, I need to sit down."

River was at her side in a moment, gently guiding her to sit on a desk that was nearby. "You know, you're hot when you get all alpha like that."

Ember looked up at that, a light shade of red dusting her cheeks. "Um, sorry, got a bit carried away there..."

"Oh, I don't think so. He needed someone to take him down a peg." River smiled, taking the brunette's left hand in her own. Without being noticed, she discreetly rubbed Ember's ring finger. "So... have you told him yet?"

"Huh? Told who what?"

River gestured with her head to where the Doctor had taken Donna. "Him. Have you told him yet? And don't ask what; we both know better."

A blink, and then Ember blushed harder. "Um, well, not exactly..."

"Why not?"

"How can I?" Ember shrugged. "There's no way he'd reciprocate. If anything, he probably hates me for letting him down when it really mattered."

River frowned. "What do you mean?"

Ember sighed. "You know about Rose, right?" When River nodded, she continued. "Well, I could have saved her, but I messed up. I bet somewhere in those big hearts of his, he blames me. And he's got to be reminded every time he looks at me that I failed."

"Oh, Sweetie..." River squeezed her hand. "You know the Doctor could never hate you."

"Okay, maybe not so much as hate, but at the very least, he's disappointed." Ember muttered. She looked over at Proper Dave and tensed. "Oh, no..."

Puzzled, River looked as well, only to pale when she saw one shadow on the man now. "Doctor!"

Within a minute the Doctor came running back, without Donna, and looked where River pointed to see the second shadow missing. "Where did it go?"

By now everyone had seen it, even Proper Dave. "It's just gone. I looked round, one shadow, see."

"Does that mean we can leave?" River asked. "I don't want to hang around here."

"I don't know why we're still here." Lux said. "We can leave him, can't we? I mean, no offence..."

Ember moved without thinking, storming up and shoving the man so hard he tripped over a stool behind him and landed right on his backside. "I told you, one step!"

The Doctor was quick to get to her side and pull her into his arms. "Easy, Ember!"

River moved so that she was between Lux and the Time Lords as the man shakily stood up. "You did get a fair warning, just so you know. So for your own sake: Shut up, Mister Lux. Next time, she might set you on fire, and I don't mean that as a metaphor."

That made the man pale, looking over at the brunette in dread.

Ember pushed the Doctor's arms away from her and took a breath. "I'm fine. Finding that shadow is more important right now."

The Doctor reluctantly let her go, turning to face Proper Dave. "Did you feel anything, like an energy transfer? Anything at all?"

"No, no, but look, it's gone." He replied, holding out his arms and turning on the spot.

"Stop there. Stop, stop, stop there. Stop moving. They're never just gone and they never give up." The Doctor went to his knees to scan the single shadow with his Sonic. "Well, this one's benign..."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Dave suddenly asked.

The Doctor looked up, but the man had his back to them. "No one, they're fine."

"No seriously, turn them back on."

"They are on." River said

"I can't see a ruddy thing."

"Dave, turn around." The Doctor said as he stood up.

The man turned around, revealing that his visor was comepletely dark, like he'd brought up the block. "What's going on? Why can't I see? Is the power gone? Are we safe here?"

"Dave, I want you stay still. Absolutely still." The Doctor flinched as Dave suddenly jerked and twitched. "Dave? Dave? Dave, can you hear me? Are you all right? Talk to me, Dave!"

"I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm fine."

"I want you to stay still. Absolutely still..."

_"I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm fine."_ Everyone froze when he began to repeat himself. _"I can't... Why can't I? I, I can't... Why can't I? I, I can't... Why can't I? I..."_

River spotted the comm on the collar of Dave's suit, the green light flashing on it. "He's gone. He's ghosting."

"Then why is he still standing?" Lux asked.

"Not why; how," Ember corrected. "His skeleton wouldn't be able to stand on its own. It needs support."

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_ 'Dave' said, in the exact tone he'd said those words earlier. _"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

"Doctor, don't..." River said as the Doctor stepped forward.

The Doctor ignored her. "Dave, can you hear me?"

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_ 'Dave' suddenly lashed out, grabbing the Doctor by his throat with both hands and forcing him to his knees. A skull clacked against the visor. _"Who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

"No!" Ember held her hand out, concentrating. Flames erupted on the sleeves of the suit, making it let go of the Doctor and stumble back. She didn't hold them for more than a few seconds, but it was long enough, and the flames snuffed out a moment later as she let it go.

"Back from it! Get back!" The Doctor said as he quickly got to his feet and backed off, making the others back away as well. "Right back."

River blinked as 'Dave' took an unsteady step forward. "Doesn't move very fast, does it?"

"It's a swarm in a suit." The Doctor retorted, then looked at the floor. "But it's learning."

Four shadows were reaching toward them from the feet of the suit like claws.

"What do we do?" Lux cried. "Where do we go?"

"See that wall behind you? Duck." River pulled out a gun and pointed it at the far wall, making a perfect square hole in it.

"Squareness gun!" The Doctor said.

"Everybody out. Go, go, go. Move it. Move, move. Move it. Move, move!" River made sure everyone else went first before she followed, finding themselves in a narrow aisle of bookshelves. "You said not every shadow."

"But any shadow."

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

"Run!" River grabbed Ember's hand and took off, the rest of the group following.

The group soon found themselves hiding in one of the many aisles of bookshelves that reached the ceiling. They stopped to get their breath back and regroup.

The Doctor stood on a stack of books, propping his other foot on the shelves so he could point his Sonic at a light fitting in an attempt to keep it lit for longer, muttering to himself. "Trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down."

River made sure Ember was sat on another stack of books that was tall enough to be a makeshift stool before she turned to the Doctor, pointing her own Sonic at the light. "So, what's the plan? Do we have a plan?"

"Your screwdriver looks exactly like mine." The Doctor said after a moment.

"Yeah. You gave it to me."

"I don't give my screwdriver to anyone. Ember is the only exception."

"I'm not anyone."

"Who are you?"

"What's the plan?"

The Doctor looked like he wanted to argue, but thought better of it. "I teleported Donna back to the Tardis. If we don't get back there in under five hours, emergency program one will activate."

"Take her home, yeah." River said as the Doctor looked at his own Sonic and held it to his ear. "We need to get a shift on."

"She's not there." He murmured. "I should have received a signal. The console signals me if there's a teleport breach."

"Well, maybe the coordinates have slipped. The equipment here's ancient."

Ember tugged on his sleeve. "She's not there, but she's safe where she is."

The Doctor looked at her for a moment before he moved to where a node stood. "Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this library. Do you have the software to locate her position?"

The node turned its 'head', and the Doctor felt his hearts drop when he saw Donna's face on the other side. _"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

"Donna..."

_"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

"How can it be Donna?" River asked, shocked. "How's that possible?"

_"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

The Doctor could take his eyes from the node as it kept repeating with Donna's own voice. "Donna..."

_"Donna Noble has left the library..."_

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_ 'Dave' has caught up to them, at least enough to be heard.

"Doctor!" River called.

_"Donna Noble has been saved."_

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

_"Donna Noble has left the library..."_

"Doctor, we've got to go now!"

_"Donna Noble has been saved..."_

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

The Doctor finally turned to run back to the group, him and River helping Ember to her feet before they followed the other crew members. The voices of the missing and the dead called after them.

_"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

The group were trapped between shadows. River made sure Ember was between her and the other Time Lord. "Doctor, what are we going to do?"

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

_"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

* * *

And here we go! Part One! Part Two will be up by Thursday at the latest. Hopefully.

Next Time: Up against flesh-eating shadows, Ember pushes her limits and learns a few new things about herself. And then there's one twist at the end that she didn't see coming. Stay tuned!


	11. Chapter Eleven: Forest of The Dead

And here's Part Two!

Side note: I have a strategy or formula when it comes to the chapters. I find a transcript, use that to write the base while putting in Ember's involvements, and then I would watch the episode and proof read it to iron out any mistakes or put in the finer details.

Due to something happening in real life, I've had to skip watching the whole episode, but it's one of my favourites so I'm confident that I got it right with the clips I've been able to see. Please let me know if I've messed up somewhere, and I'll do my best to modify it later.

For now, though, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Forest of The Dead

* * *

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_ The voice of Proper Dave said as his skeleton and spacesuit were being used by the Vashta Nerada to pursue the Doctor, Ember, River, Lux, Anita and Other Dave through the halls of The Library. _"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

River pointed her squareness gun at the wall, making a new hole for them to escape from. "This way, quickly! Move!"

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

The group followed as River made their escape through several shelves until they reached another Rotunda. "OK, we've got a clear spot. In, in, in! Right in the centre. In the middle of the light, quickly. Don't let your shadows cross. Doctor..."

"I'm doing it!" The Doctor said as he began to scan the shadows with his Sonic. The rest of the group stayed in the centre of the room, removing their helmets and taking deep breaths.

"There's no lights here. Sunset's coming. We can't stay long." River said, looking up through the skylight at where the sun was already going down. She checked that Ember was okay before she turned to the other Time Lord. "Have you found a live one?"

"Maybe. It's getting harder to tell." The Doctor tapped his Sonic. "What's wrong with you?"

"We're going to need a chicken leg. Who's got a chicken leg?" River took a wrapped chicken leg from from one of her crew, pulling off the foil and tossing it aside. "Thanks, Dave." She tossed chicken over the Doctor's head and into the shadows, and only bone fall to the floor. "Okay. Okay, we've got a hot one. Watch your feet."

The Doctor stood. "They won't attack until there's enough of them. But they've got our scent now. They're coming."

Other Dave frowned. "Uh, yeah, who is he? You haven't even told us. You just expect us to trust him?"

"He's the Doctor." River said as though that was all she needed to say.

"And who is the Doctor?" Lux asked.

"The only story you'll ever tell, if you survive him."

"You say he's your friend," Anita said, watching the Doctor scurry around, scanning the shadows. "But he doesn't even know who you are."

"Listen, all you need to know is this. I'd trust him to the end of the universe, and her even further. And actually, we've been."

"He doesn't act like he trusts you."

"Yeah, there's a tiny problem. He hasn't met me yet." She got up and moved to where Ember was with the Doctor, noticing that his Sonic seemed to be acting up. "What's wrong with it?"

"There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it." The Doctor said.

"Then use the red settings."

The Doctor looked up at her. "It doesn't have a red setting."

"Well, use the dampers."

"It doesn't have dampers."

River held up her Sonic. "It will do one day."

The Doctor stood up and took her Sonic. "So, some time in the future, I just give you my screwdriver."

"Yeah."

"Why would I do that?"

"I didn't pluck it from your cold dead hands, if that's what you're worried about."

"And I know that because?"

"Do you really think Ember would let me near you if I did?" River pointed out. "Listen to me. You've lost your friend. You're angry. I understand. But you need to be less emotional, Doctor, right now."

"Less emotional? I'm not emotional!"

"There are six people in this room still alive. Focus on that. Dear God, you're hard work young!"

"Young? Who are you?"

Lux had apparently had enough. "Oh, for heaven's sake! Look at the pair of you. We're all going to die right here, and you're just squabbling like an old married couple!"

That made the two look at each other. Ember sighed and stood up, moving so that she was between them.

"Okay, first of all, Donna is not lost. She's saved." She said. "Next, this isn't helping us. River, just tell him already."

The Doctor looked at River just as the woman looked at Ember. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's by far the best way to prove he can trust you."

River nodded in agreement and then turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, one day I'm going to be someone that you trust completely, but I can't wait for you to find that out. So I'm going to prove it to you. And I'm sorry. I'm really... very sorry."

She leaned up so she could whisper something in the Doctor's ear. Ember was sure she was taking longer than she did in the show, but before she could ask, the Doctor leaned back and looked at River, a stunned expression on his face.

"Are we good?" River asked, but he only stared. "Doctor... are we good?"

The Doctor swallowed a lump in his throat. "Yeah... Yeah, we're good."

"Good." River took her Sonic back and moved back to the group, leaving them alone.

"Are you okay?" Ember asked him. "I know it's probably a shock for her to know... _that_, but I promise, it's going to be okay."

The Doctor nodded, but then he surprised her by pulling her into a hug. Ember blinked, but let him, knowing that he just got the shock of his life.

Little did she know, what River had told him was not quite what she thought...

The Doctor let go of her and focused on his Sonic again, moving to the centre of the rotunda. "Know what's interesting about my screwdriver? Very hard to interfere with. Practically nothing's strong enough. Well, some hairdryers, but I'm working on that. So there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before. So what's new? What's changed? Come on! What's new? What's different?"

"I don't know." Other Dave said, shaking his head. "Nothing. It's getting dark?"

"It's a screwdriver. It works in the dark." The Doctor deadpanned. He looked at Ember when she tugged his sleeve and pointed up, where the moon was in clear view. "Moon rise. Tell me about the moon. What's there?"

"It's not real." Lux said. "It was built as part of the Library. It's just a Doctor Moon."

"What's a Doctor Moon?"

"A virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet."

"Well, still active. It's signalling." The Doctor held up the Sonic. "Look. Someone somewhere in this library is alive and communicating with the moon. Or, possibly alive and drying their hair. No, the signal is definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through."

He'd pointed the Sonic to the side, so he didn't notice when a hazy image of Donna appeared a few feet away. But River did. "Doctor!"

"Donna!" The image vanished.

"That was her. That was your friend! Can you get her back? What was that?"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm trying to find the wavelength. Argh, I'm being blocked."

"Professor?" Anita said, fear in her voice. Ember froze.

River must have missed it. "Just a moment."

"It's important... I have two shadows."

Everyone turned to see that she was right. "Okay. Helmets on, everyone. Anita, I'll get yours."

"It didn't do Proper Dave any good."

"Just keep it together, okay?"

"Keeping it together. I'm only crying. I'm about to die. It's not an overreaction." Anita whimpered as River put the helmet on her before putting her own on.

"Hang on." The Doctor said, moving to stand in front of Anita and sonicing the visor, making it go dark.

"Oh God, they've got inside." River said.

"No, no, no. I just tinted her visor. Maybe they'll think they're already in there, leave her alone."

"Do you think they can be fooled like that? "

"Maybe. I don't know. It's a swarm. It's not like we chat." The Doctor looked at Ember. "Will it work?"

Ember was looking at the ground, though she did hear him. "For a while. But it won't fool them forever."

Other Dave moved slightly closer to Anita. "Can you still see in there?"

"Just about." She replied.

"Um, Doctor?" Ember suddenly called. "I think you should see this."

Puzzled, the Doctor moved to her side and followed her gaze to the floor. For a moment he was afraid that she was going to have two shadows, but was relieved when he only saw one and that the nearest shadows were several feet away from her. "What is it?"

"Watch." Was all she said. She stepped back, pulling him with her, and the Doctor watched with growing confusion and curiousity as the shadows moved forward a bit, but remained a few feet away from her. She then stepped forward again, and immediately the shadows retreated. "Are they... avoiding me?"

"What the hell?" Lux said, having seen what just happened. "Are they scared of you? Why the hell didn't you tell us before?"

Ember looked over her shoulder at him with a flat look. "I didn't know!"

"Well, you can keep them away, then! You can get us out of here!"

"Oh, sure, let me hug all of you to me at once and we can just foxtrot out of here," the brunette said as she moved to the centre of the room.

"She's right," River agreed. "She can't protect us all."

"Can you get them away from me?" Anita asked.

Ember bit her lip, looking down at the two shadows coming from the woman. "It might work, but it might scare them into your suit instead. I... don't want to risk it."

Anita nodded. "I guess so..."

"Just, just, just stay back." The Doctor said. "Professor, a quick word, please."

"What?"

"Down here." The Doctor knelt, followed by River and Ember.

"What is it?"

"Look, you said there are six people still alive in this room."

"Yeah, so?"

"So... why are there seven?"

River looked behind them, paling when she saw a fifth suit standing not far from the group, just as it spoke with Proper Dave's voice._ "Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

"Run!" The Doctor jumped to his feet, pulling Ember with him as the others followed.

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

The group ran until they reached a high level walkway to another library skyscraper. The Doctor skidded to a halt. "Professor, go ahead. Find a safe spot."

"It's a carnivorous swarm in a suit." River said. "You can't reason with it!"

"Five minutes!"

"Other Dave, stay with him. Pull him out when he's too stupid to live. Two minutes, Doctor."

The Doctor turned to Ember. "You should go with them."

"No chance!" Ember shot back. "This is why I stayed."

The doors they'd come from burst open as the suit-controlling swarm entered the walkway. _"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

The Doctor ran up to it, making sure he was out of striking range. "You hear that? Those words? That is the very last thought of the man who wore that suit. Before you climbed inside and stripped his flesh. That's a man's soul, trapped inside a neural relay, going round and round forever. Now, if you don't have the decency to let him go, how about this? Use him. Talk to me. It's easy. Neural relay. Just point and think. Use him, talk to me."

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

"The Vashta Nerada live on all the worlds in this system, but you hunt in forests. What are you doing in a library?"

"We should go." Other Dave said. "Doctor!"

"In a minute!" The Doctor didn't look back. "You came to the library to hunt. Why? Just tell me why?"

Ember moved to stand in front of the Doctor and concentrated. It made her head hurt, but she succeeded in making a line of flames spring up between them and the swarm-suit. It only lasted a second, but it had the desired effect as the suit staggered back. "You'd better talk or I'll burn that suit with you in it!"

The suit hesitated, and then Proper Dave's voice came out a bit darker, with new words. _"We... did not..."_

"Oh, hello." The Doctor said, moving an arm around Ember's waist to help balance her as she also staggered. For some reason, the fire was getting harder to manifest, and she couldn't figure out why.

_"We did not..."_

"Take it easy, you'll get the hang of it. Did not what?"

_"We did not... come here..."_

"Well, of course you did. Of course you came here."

_"We come... from here."_

"From here?" The Doctor repeated, puzzled.

_"We hatched here."_

"But you hatch from trees. From spores in trees."

_"These are our... forests."_

The Doctor put his free hand in his pocket. "You're nowhere near a forest. Look around you."

_"These are our forests."_

"You're not in a forest, you're in a library!"

Ember shook her head. "Doctor, what are trees turned into? Paper."

"We should go. Doctor!" Other Dave called again.

"Books." The Doctor murmured, looking out of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the vast library. "You came in the books. Microspores in a million, million books."

_"We should go. Doctor!"_ Ember froze. Oh no.

"Oh, look at that. The forests of the Vashta Nerada, pulped and printed and bound. A million, million books, hatching shadows."

_"We should go. Doctor!"_

The Doctor realised that Other Dave was repeating and turned to look at the man, seeing the skull in the visor. "Oh, Dave! Oh Dave, I'm so sorry."

"_Hey, who turned out the lights?" _Proper Dave's voice went back to the loop.

_"We should go. Doctor!"_

"Hold it!" Ember said, holding out her hand as though she were about to summon more fire. Nothing happened, but both suits fell for the feint and stopped. "I got one more question. You won't come near me even when I go into the shadows. Why are you scared of me?"

Proper Dave's suit hesitated before the dark version of his voice came back. _"You... cannot die..."_

Ember blinked, puzzled. "Who told you that? Of course I can die."

_"No..."_

_"You cannot die..."_ Other Dave's voice had darkened as well. _"YOU MUST NOT DIE!"_

"What?" Ember was surprised not just by the response, but by the firm certainty it was said in. That last bit was almost shouted.

_"Hey, who turned out the lights?"_

_"We should go. Doctor!"_

The Doctor pulled Ember with him, backing up to the far wall. "Thing about me, I'm stupid. I talk too much. Always babbling on. This gob doesn't stop for anything. Want to know the only reason I'm still alive? Always stay near the door."

He pointed his Sonic down, causing a trapdoor to open beneath his and Ember's feet. He was able to grab a bar of the support strut underneath the walkway, luckily not dropping Ember before she was able to grab the metal in front of him. The two of them slowly made their way across to the other side where the Doctor was able to open another trap door for them to get back up, and they followed the light until they reached another lecture hall. This one didn't have a chair in the centre, instead a round space where the rest of the group were waiting for them.

The Doctor held Ember's arm and put a finger on his lips to stay quiet as they heard River speaking to Anita.

"He came when I called, just like he always does, and knowing Ember, she probably just popped in." She was saying. "Ember is the same firecracker I've always known. Oh, she's not at her full strength yet, but let me tell you something about her: She has powers that people only hear and tell stories about. The very elements themselves will bend under her will one day."

Ember glanced at the Doctor, a million questions in her eyes. The total lack of surprise on his face told her that he already knew what River was talking about, but he only squeezed her hand and shook his head.

"But right now, she's still learning, and the Doctor that's here with her isn't my Doctor." River sighed. "Now my Doctor... I've seen whole armies turn and run away. And he'd just swagger off back to his Tardis and open the doors with a snap of his fingers, or Ember would if she gets to it first. The Doctor and Ember, in the Tardis. Next stop, everywhere."

"Spoilers." The Doctor said from the top of the steps. He came down them and hopped over the last desk to reach the centre. "Nobody can open the Tardis by snapping their fingers. It doesn't work like that."

"It does for the Doctor." River said. "And Ember."

"I am the Doctor."

"Yeah. Some day." River turned as Ember joined them, though she was noticeably paler. "Are you alright?"

"Yea, bit of arson doesn't hurt," Ember replied, rubbing her temple slightly. She didn't want to reveal that she'd heard what River said about her. "But it's getting harder, I dunno why. I might only have one more in me before I have to call it a day."

River nodded. "This planet was man made, so your powers over fire aren't as easy to use here, being as it's an unnatural environment."

That made the brunette look at her. "So it matters where I am when I use my powers?"

"Spoilers."

The Doctor gently pat Ember's shoulder before he looked over at Anita. "How are you doing?"

"Where's Other Dave?" River asked.

"Not coming. Sorry."

Anita shifted. "Well, if they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?"

"I don't know." The Doctor admitted, glancing down to see that she still had two shadows. "Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference."

"It's making a difference all right. No one's ever going to see my face again."

"Can I get you anything?"

"An old age would be nice." Anita tried to joke even though the fear was still in her voice. "Anything you can do?"

"I'm all over it."

"Doctor... When we first met you, you didn't trust Professor Song. And then she whispered something in your ear, and you did. My life so far. I could do with words like that. What did she say? Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me."

The Doctor blinked, something finally registering. "Safe..."

"What?"

"Safe. You don't say saved. Nobody says saved. You say safe! The data fragment! What did it say?"

"Four thousand and twenty two people saved." Lux said. "No survivors."

River could tell that the Time Lord had figured out something. "Doctor?"

"Nobody says saved. Nutters say saved. You say safe. You see, it didn't mean safe. It meant, it literally meant, saved!" He ran over to a terminal and worked quickly, bringing up what he needed to see. "See, there it is, right there. A hundred years ago, massive power surge. All the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm. The computer tries to teleport everyone out."

"It tried to teleport four thousand twenty two people?"

"It succeeded. Pulled them all out, but then what? Nowhere to send them. Nowhere safe in the whole library. Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. Four thousand and twenty two people all beamed up and nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails. So what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?"

"It saved them." River said in realisation, looking at Ember. "You've been saying it all along: Donna is safe. She's _saved_. You were trying to hint, weren't you?"

Ember shrugged. "We needed to be here, so I couldn't just tell you what's happened."

"Wait, you knew?" Lux said. "You knew and you didn't tell us? Why not?!"

"Foreknowledge is dangerous. If I told you everything from the start, certain things wouldn't happen."

"Well, three people are dead because you kept quiet! They could have not died!"

River turned on the man. "That's not her fault! She only knows a possible future, one that might not come to be. And she just said we needed to be here, and I believe her."

The Doctor moved to a large, polished table and pushed the books aside to make space as he pulled a marker pen from his pocket, drawing a large circle with a smaller one inside it. "The library. A whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved four thousand and twenty two people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive."

"But it's taking up too much space," Ember added. "And what happens to a computer when it's too full of data?"

An alarm suddenly sounded, making them look around.

"What is it?" Lux asked. "What's wrong?"

_"Autodestruct enabled in twenty minutes."_ A computerised voice announced as the screen on the terminal showed more words.

"What's maximum erasure?" River asked after reading it.

"In twenty minutes, this planet's going to crack like an egg." The Doctor said.

"No. No, it's all right." Lux shook his head. "The Doctor Moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect CAL."

The Doctor paled as the screen when blank. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

_"All library systems are permanently offline. Sorry for any inconvenience. Shortly-"_

Lux looked more scared than ever, but not for himself. "We need to stop this. We've got to save CAL!"

"What is it? What is CAL?"

Ember moved to the man's side, grabbing his arm. "We can help, but you have to tell them. Now."

"We need to get to the main computer. I'll show you." Lux said after a moment's hesitation.

"It's at the core of the planet." The Doctor pointed out.

River took out her Sonic. "Well, then. Let's go." She pointed it at the very centre of the circle, and the logo on it opened to reveal a platform. "Gravity platform."

"I bet I like you."

"Oh, you do. But I like Ember more."

"Oh, is that a challenge?"

"Um, lets go," Ember said, stepping on to the platform. "No time for flirting."

The other four followed, and the platform swiftly brought them down to the centre, where the data core was located.

_"Autodestruct in fifteen minutes."_ The computer announced.

The Doctor spotted a large globe with swirling energy in it. "The data core. Over four thousand living minds trapped inside it."

"Yeah, well, they won't be living much longer." River said as she joined him at a terminal. "We're running out of time."

_"Help me. Please, help me."_

Everyone looked around at the sound of what seemed to be a little girl's voice.

"What's that?" Anita asked.

River looked around. "Was that a child?"

"The computer's in sleep mode. I can't wake it up. I'm trying." The Doctor tapped at a keyboard, but it didn't seem to work.

"Doctor, these readings..."

"I know. You'd think it was dreaming."

"It _is_ dreaming," Lux said solemnly, "of a normal life, and a lovely Dad, and of every book ever written."

"Computers don't dream." Anita said.

_"Help me. Please help me."_

"No, but little girls do." Lux pulled a breaker, and a door opened. He led them through it and into a room that had a node in it.

_"__Please help me. Please help me."_ It said as it turned its head to face them, revealing a face they'd seen before.

"Oh, my God." River breathed, shocked.

"It's the little girl." Anita realised. "The girl we saw in the computer."

Lux shook his head. "She's not _in_ the computer. In a way, she _is_ the computer. The main command node. This is CAL."

"CAL is a child? A child hooked up to a mainframe?" The Doctor asked him, shocked and more than a little disgusted. "Why didn't you tell me this? I needed to know this!"

"Because she's family!" Lux snapped, making them all looked at him. "CAL. Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time. Any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything, and he gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show."

The Doctor looked grim. "So you weren't protecting a patent; you were protecting her."

"This is only half a life, of course. But it's for ever."

"And then the shadows came."

_"The shadows..."_ CAL said._ "I have to... I have to save... Have to save..."_

"And she saved them. She saved everyone in the library. Folded them into her dreams and kept them safe."

"Then why didn't she tell us?" Anita asked.

"A computer that has little memory space can't do more than a few simple things at once." Ember pointed out.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "She didn't tell us because she's forgotten. She's got over four thousand living minds chatting away inside her head. It must be like being, well, me."

"So what do we do?" River looked at him.

_"Autodestruct in ten minutes."_

The Doctor ran out of the room and started messing with the terminal. "Easy! We beam all the people out of the data core. The computer will reset and stop the countdown." He looked at a screen and frowned. "Difficult. Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer. Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer. She can borrow my memory space."

"Difficult!" River said. "It'll kill you stone dead!"

"Yeah, it's easy to criticise..."

"It'll burn out both your hearts and don't think you'll regenerate!"

"I'll try my hardest not to die. Honestly, it's my main thing."

"Doctor!"

"I'm right, this works. Shut up. Now listen. You and Luxy boy, back up to the main library. Prime any data cells you can find for maximum download, and before you say anything else, Professor, can I just mention in passing as you're here, shut up."

River let out a breath. "Oh! I hate you sometimes."

"I know!"

Ember winced as her head throbbed, another vision taking her...

_"These are our forests," 'Anita's' voice said, a skull visible in her visor as the swarm used her bones and suit to hold an arm out. "They are our meat..."_

_The Doctor turned and gave a threat, but it was ignored as the shadows closed in on him. He was consumed, and the planet completed its self-destruction, killing River and Lux and destroying all of the minds that had been saved..._

Shaking out of the vision, Ember looked around as she noticed that River and Lux were gone and she was now sitting against the wall. She glanced at Anita and tried not to physically react as she saw that the woman only had one shadow now.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor called from where he was working at panels. When he saw that she had staggered, he'd moved her to sit against the wall. He would have stayed with her, but they were on limited time; he had to get this done.

Ember nodded. "I'm fine. But we need to hurry. Donna's with those other people in the mainframe."

_"What about the Vashta Nerada?"_ The swarm inside Anita's suit used her voice to speak. They were much better at it this time; the voice sounded normal.

"These are their forests." The Doctor said, seemingly unaware of the change. "I'm going to seal Charlotte inside her little world, take everybody else away. The shadows can swarm to their hearts' content."

_"So you think they're just going to let us go?"_

"Best offer they're going to get."

_"You're going to make 'em an offer?"_

"And they'd better take it, because right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. You know what? I really liked Anita. She was brave, even when she was crying. And she never gave in. And you ate her." He turned to face the suit and ran his Sonic over the visor, making the skull inside visible. "But I'm going to let that pass, just as long as you let them pass."

_"How long have you known?"_

"I counted the shadows. You only have one now." The Doctor glanced at the neural relay, seeing four of the five green lights no longer lit up. "She's nearly gone. Be kind."

_"These are our forests. We are not kind."_

The Doctor turned back to work on the terminal. "I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving us them. You are letting them go."

_"These are our forests. They are our meat."_ The suit's arm lifted, and shadows began to stretch out from the suit and move toward the Doctor.

"Don't play games with me. You just killed someone I liked. That is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor, and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up."

The shadows didn't stop.

"Oh no, you don't!" Ember forced herself to her feet and moved so that she was between the Doctor and the approaching shadows, holding out her arm. In a gesture like she was sweeping things off of a table, she concentrated hard and made a line of angry flames erupt between her and the shadows. The fire was more intense than last time, and the suit and the shadows stepped back. "I'm giving you a choice right now, and you'd better listen!"

There was a pause as the swarm stayed quiet before it spoke. _"What choice?"_

"Option one: you take his deal. Let us all go and we'll leave you with your forest in peace." Ember said, wincing as her head throbbed, but she didn't let the flames go out just yet. "No one else dies. Option two: you kill a single person here and not only will I stop you, but I will burn this planet right down to the core! You and your forest will go up in flames!"

The Doctor looked at her, noticing that her sclera was now engulfed in silver and her pupils were barely visible. A fine sheen of sweat had also broken out across her forehead. "Ember..."

"Make your choice." Ember ignored him, putting all she had into keeping the flames up and looking as threatening as possible. "You know I'm not lying, and you know what I can do. I am the Great Fire, the Mother of Elements, and I order you to choose!"

The shadows retreated back to the suit, and its arm lowered. _"You will let us live?"_

Ember winced again. The pain was getting worse, but she was so close. "Lives for lives. Give us time to leave, and we'll leave you alone. You have my word."

A small pause, and then...

_"You have one day."_ The swarm said at last before the suit collapsed.

Ember watched the shadows slide across the floor and away, going around River as she ran back to them, before she dropped her arm and let the flames go out. Her head pounded with pain and she felt her legs give out, but she didn't hit the floor as the Doctor swiftly caught her.

River saw the remains of Anita and her heart sank. "Oh, Anita..."

"I'm sorry. She's been dead a while now." The Doctor said as he eased Ember to lay on the floor. "Ember made them an offer they couldn't refuse. They won't bother us now."

"What happened to her?" River asked in concern, moving over to kneel beside the brunette. She caught a glimpse of liquid silver before Ember's eyes rolled back and she passed out. "Ember?"

"She pushed herself: two, nearly three visions and three times using her powers in a few hours was too much in a place like this. It's still too early for her." The Doctor said as he stood and went back to the panel. "I told you to go!"

"Lux can manage without me, but you can't." River said firmly, standing up and walking right to the Doctor. He'd only just turned to face her when she threw a punch, knocking him clean out. She shook her hand to relieve the pain as she looked at what was left to be done.

A short time later, River was sat in a big, metal chair, a circlet of wires around her head as she worked to twist a few wires together. The Doctor had his left wrist cuffed to the wall several feet away with Ember lying beside him.

_"Autodestruct in three minutes."_ The computer announced, the Doctor only just registering it as he woke up. He looked around and paled when he saw River.

"Oh, no, no, no, no! Come on, what are you doing? That's my job!"

"Oh, and I'm not allowed to have a career, I suppose?" River said as she worked.

"Why am I handcuffed? Why do you even have handcuffs?"

River gave him a cheeky grin. "Spoilers."

"This is not a joke! Stop this now. This is going to kill you! I'd have a chance, you don't have any!"

"You wouldn't have a chance, and neither do I!" She snapped at him, making him pause as she picked up two power cables that would plug together. "I'm timing it for the end of the countdown. There'll be a blip in the command flow. That way it should improve our chances of a clean download."

"River, please. No..."

"Funny thing is, this means you've always known how I was going to die. All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean, you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit. Ember was wearing a dress - you know how she hates dresses. You took me to Darillium to see the Singing Towers. What a night that was. The Towers sang, and you cried, you both did."

_"Autodestuct in two minutes."_

"You wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to The Library. You even gave me your screwdriver. That should have been a clue." The Doctor spotted River's diary a few feet away, along with his and her Sonics. He tried to get to them, but they were just out of his reach. "There's nothing you can do."

"You can let me do this!"

"If you die here, it'll mean I've never met you."

"Time can be rewritten."

"Not those times. Not one line. Don't you dare! I couldn't stand it, and you know she couldn't, either!" River caught sight of Ember starting to stir. "You'd better hold on to her, Doctor. You know she'll try and stop me. For you, she might even take my place..."

The Doctor looked at Ember, noticing her stirring, and put his free arm around her waist just as she woke up. "Ember, you alright?"

"Yea, just a headache..." the brunette murmured before she looked up and saw River. In a flash she tried to get up, only to be held fast to the Doctor's body by his arm around her waist. "No, River! Don't!"

"Good to see those silver eyes one last time, Sweetie," River said, blinking back tears.

_"Autodestruct in one minute..."_

Ember threw out her arm, making a small plume of flame appear by River's feet, though it only lasted a second before it went out. "River, I'll burn that chair down, I swear...!"

"We both know you wouldn't hurt me even if you were at full strength," River said, watching as Ember tried to free herself from the Doctor's firm hold only to come up short because she'd used too much already. "A firecracker to the end."

"River, no! Please!" Ember cried, tears falling freely down her face. "Doctor, let go! I can't let her do this, I can't lose another one!"

The Doctor felt tears gather in his own eyes as he shook his head and held her tight to him. He even had to throw a leg over to pin hers down so she couldn't kick him. "I'm sorry, I can't..."

"No! Let go! River, please stop!"

River's heart broke as she watched the two people she cared about the most crying for her. "It's okay. It's okay. It's not over for you. You'll see me again. You've got all of that to come. You and me, time and space. You watch us run."

"River!" Ember cried. She had one hand out as though to reach for her while the other was clawing at the Doctor's arm to try to pry him off her. But she was still too weak from using her powers so often. "Doctor, she knows your name! She told you!"

_"Autodestruct in ten..."_

"She told you your name, and you know what that means!" Ember tried again to break free, hoping that the Doctor would have slackened his hold at the reminder. But he held firm, and she just didn't have the strength to get him off of her.

_"Nine, eight, seven-"_

"The one time you can tell one person that one secret! Please, let me go!"

"Hush, now." River said, shaking her head when the Doctor looked at her over Ember's head. The countdown was nearly over. "Spoilers..."

_"Two, one-"_

At the last moment, River plugged the cables together. The room was filled with bright light, forcing Ember and the Doctor to shield their eyes.

When the light faded, everything was still intact, but the chair was now empty. River Song was no more.

"No!" Ember cried. The Doctor's hold on her waist had slackened now, but it didn't matter. Shifting to her knees, she balled up her fists and slammed them onto the floor over and over, tears blurring her vision. "No! Not again, no!"

The Doctor didn't move until he saw that her right fist had somehow been cut somewhere along the edge of her hand, and it left a small splatter of blood each time she slammed it down. "Ember..."

"No!" She snapped at him, moving to get up, but he was faster and pulled her back against him. He held her to him as she bucked and tried to make him let go, smacking his chest with her fists now. He didn't care that she was getting blood on his suit; if it meant the damage would not get worse, he'd take it. "Let me go! Get off!"

"I'm sorry..." he murmured, wincing as her head hit his chin and made him bite his tongue slightly, but he refused to release her. "I'm so sorry, but I can't let you go..."

Ember fought for a few more seconds before she collapsed, her body exhausted. She panted through tears as she pressed her forehead against his chest, gasping and sobbing. "I could have saved her... she didn't have to..."

And that was how Lux found them shortly after.

* * *

A little while later, the people that had been rescued from the computer were being beamed off the planet. Donna was searching the crowd for the husband she'd ended up with while in the mainframe.

After being released from the cuffs, the Doctor had taken Ember straight back to the Tardis to check her hand. Other than a small cut and a few bruises, she was fine, but she hardly said a word.

Ember was back on the balcony she'd started at, looking out over the rail to take in the view the biggest library in the universe one last time. She was waiting there for the Doctor to get Donna so they could leave. On the balcony lay River's diary and her Sonic.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see the Doctor and Donna coming down the steps to stand with her. She smiled sadly at them.

"You alright?" Donna asked, gesturing to the new bandage around her right hand.

Ember nodded, lifting the hand to look at it. "It's not as bad as it looks. One of those small cuts that bleed a lot, you know?"

Nodding, Donna turned to the Doctor to see him looking at River's diary. "Your friend, Professor Song. She knew you in the future, but she didn't know me. What happens to me? Because when she heard my name, the way she looked at me..."

"Donna, this is her diary." The Doctor said. "My future. I could look you up. What do you think? Shall we peek at the end?"

Donna smiled, but shook her head. "Spoilers, right?"

"Right. Come on. The next chapter's this way."

The two of them turned and began to go up the steps, but stopped when Ember cleared her throat loudly. "Um, you're missing something."

The Doctor blinked at her. "I am?"

"Yea." Ember picked up River's Sonic. "I'll give you a spoiler. You gave her this, knowing that she was coming here. You knew what would happen today. Now what you need to ask yourself is why."

The Doctor blinked again, and then he came back down the steps to take the Sonic and look at it. "Why? Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that? Future me had years to think about it, all those years to think of a way to save her, and what he did was give her a screwdriver. Why would I do that?"

Ember reached up and unclipped a panel on the side, revealing two green lights: A neural relay. "Right there."

"Oh! Oh! Oh, look at that. I'm very good!"

"What have you done?" Donna asked.

"Saved her!" The Doctor looked at Ember. "You coming?"

Ember shook her head. "You'll be faster without me. Go."

He grinned and took off.

* * *

When the Doctor returned, having successfully put River's brainwaves in the computer, the trio of travelers were now back in the Tardis and away from The Library. Donna had gone to bed and left the Time Lords alone.

Ember was about to leave the console room when the Doctor stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Ember... you knew we would save River..."

"No, I knew we'd _save_ her," the brunette corrected. "Not even we, actually, just you."

"But you were so upset, when she was in that chair..."

Ember frowned. "So? You think I would have just smiled and let her get herself killed? I messed up once, and that was bad enough. But this was River..."

The Doctor looked at her for a long moment. "That's not all that's bothering you, is it?"

"... No." Ember admitted, looking away. "I can't stop thinking about what River said, about me. 'The elements themselves will bend to her will'. I've not long found out that I can control water like it has a mind. And she said that I'm not even at my full strength yet. Just what am I capable of? What else can I do?"

The Doctor didn't answer for a moment as he moved closer to her, and then he sighed. "Your powers are growing. I'm not certain that you even have a limit to what you can do."

"I can argue that point. I can't save everyone, even when I know exactly what's going to happen. What good is this 'knowing the future' if I can't change it? Bet you've thought that more than once."

"Ember..." The Doctor turned her to face him. "Is this about Rose as well as River, that you couldn't save them?"

"I _could_ _have_ saved them," Ember said, turning her gaze away. She made sure her left cheek was not in his line of sight. "I knew what was coming and I could have stopped it. You've said it yourself; time can be rewritten."

The Doctor put both hands on her shoulders, making her face him as best he could. "I told River that, and she didn't want it to be changed. Yes, it hurts that she's gone, but we saved her. And Rose isn't dead, remember?"

Ember shook her head, lifting a hand to wipe her eyes. "I know... but it still hurts..."

"That's good. It hurts, yes, but that's part of who we are. The day we stop hurting is the day we stop being who we are."

Ember nodded, wiping her eyes again as she looked up at him. "Thanks. I'm not quite alright yet, but I'll get there..."

"Good to hear. Now, is it okay if I do something that's a little bit out there?"

"Um... yeah?"

The Doctor gave her a gentle smile, and then what he did next surprised her: he leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips. It was a simple kiss that didn't exceed or become more - just a few moments of lip contact - and when he pulled back he let her step back as she raised a hand to her lips in surprise. "I've been wanting to do that ever since you kissed me in front of Agatha Christie."

"Um... I... that was..." She stammered, her face red and her hearts pounding. Was it hot in the console room, or was it just her? "Um... I'm... gonna go, uh..."

She turned and scurried away, missing it when the Doctor smirked before he turned to pilot the Tardis into the Vortex.

* * *

Ok, and that's it. I've had this one written out for weeks, and I've lost count of how many times I tweaked it. I hope you like it.

Next Time; Ember runs into Jack before he became the Face of Boe, takes part of a chase-down, and goes on an (almost) date. Stay tuned!


	12. Chapter Twelve: Boom Town

Okay, here's the next one. And we're gonna start off with a bit of embarrassment for Ember.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Boom Town

* * *

"Holy Crap!"

Ember had cried out as soon as she landed, holding her denim jacket to herself. To her extreme embarrassment, she was still in the shower when she felt the burning sensation building up, and was only able to grab her denim jacket before she jumped. Now she was stood in the console room of the Tardis, naked as the day she was born and still wet from the shower.

She was normally quick with her showers, but she'd spent longer this time because she couldn't stop thinking about the adventure she'd just had, and what had happened at the end of it.

The Doctor had kissed her. Willingly and intentionally. He'd even said that he wanted to do that since their adventure with Agatha Christie, where she'd had to kiss him to shock him into expelling ingested cyanide. When he'd asked if he could do something 'a bit out there', she hadn't expected a kiss.

It made her feel weird, in a nice way, while at the same time she felt like it was a slap in the face for River.

It had to be fluke, right? He was just repaying what he thought was a debt to her, that's all. It couldn't have meant anything... could it?

A loud clatter brought her out of her thoughts and she turned around, and then she really wished she'd done it sooner. Not only was the Ninth Doctor there, but so were Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness, the latter being the one responsible for the noise as he'd been holding something but dropped it. All three of them were looking at her with wide eyes.

She was mortified at the realisation that because she had appeared with her back to them, the trio had gotten a very clear view of her backside. Her very _naked_ backside. With a squeak, she huddled to make herself as small as possible so she could hide as much of her skin as she could under her jacket, which she held over her front so that _other_ things weren't seen. "Eep! Um... hi..."

"Hel-lo, Firebird!" Jack said at last, snapping out of the surprise and giving her an appreciative glance over, which made her face even redder than she thought possible. "Gotta admit, I wasn't expecting this, but I'm liking the view..."

"Oi! Eyes up, soldier!" The Doctor barked, shrugging off his leather jacket and moving around the console so he could put it over Ember's bare shoulders. "You already know she's not interested."

"Thanks," she muttered to him, shifting one hand so she could hold the jacket closed over her front. It didn't completely cover her, but it made her feel less exposed and a little more safe.

"You're welcome. But I think you might feel better if you go get some of your own clothes, yes?"

"Uh, yeah!" Ember nodded, taking careful steps sideways toward the corridor that would lead her further into the Tardis. She made sure that they only saw the front of her the whole time, and only turned when she was sure she was out of sight. She looked up at the ceiling. "Um, a little help here?"

The corridor hummed and vibrated beneath her bare feet, and she let out a breath when she turned the corner and found the door to her room already open and ready for her.

"Thank you," She said aloud, placing a hand on the wall. She felt it hum beneath her fingers and smiled before she stepped into her room and went straight for the en suite, grabbing a towel to wrap around herself while she looked for clothes after putting hers and the Doctor's jackets over the back of the desk chair to dry from where they'd absorbed some of the water from her skin.

She'd gotten into a pair of dark blue jeans and red converse, and was just turning to put on a red t-shirt when she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror. She paused, her eyes straying to the scar on her cheek. She was just tracing it with her fingers when something else caught her eye: the mark developing on her left bicep. She hadn't really been keeping track of it since before Canary Wharf, but she could have sworn that it had darkened. It currently looked like a tattoo of a perfect circle, the black seeming to spread inward to form a shape, but she couldn't quite figure out what the shape was meant to be. It looked similar to a tribal mark, if she could find a good comparison.

"What _is_ this?" She wondered aloud, running her fingers over it. It didn't hurt like a bruise that deep would, but she didn't remember ever having a tattoo before she started jumping. Whatever it was must have something to do with the mystery race that she was part of.

Ember finally let it go, putting on the shirt, and she left the en suite while towel-drying her hair as best she could before pulling it up into a ponytail, reminding herself that she needed to trim it soon. She put on her denim jacket and picked up the Doctor's leather one - both dry now, thank goodness - before pausing and looking at the latter. It had a singe on the right sleeve, near the cuff, like someone had accidently burnt it with a cigar.

Blinking, she looked at the sleeve of her own jacket, noticing that some of the singes on hers looked similar to the one on his. But was she overthinking it, or was this singe a result of one of her 'flares'?

Without realising it, she brought the jacket close to her face and took a breath, and the scent of leather, oil and something else she couldn't identify came to mind. Come to think of it, that smell was with all of the versions of the Doctor. What was it? Was it a Time Lord thing, or something unique to the Doctor himself?

Someone knocked on the door of her room, making her jump and hide the leather jacket behind her like she'd done something wrong with it. Shaking her head and laughing to herself at her own behaviour, the brunette walked to the door and opened it, smiling at Rose when it was revealed to be her. "Hey, Rose."

"Heya." The blonde looked like she'd changed too, now wearing a dark blue denim jacket and wool, fingerless gloves while her hair was in two pigtails. "Thought I'd come get you. Hey, what's that bandage for?"

Ember blinked, looking at her right hand that sported a fresh bandage. "Ah. Got a bit hands on during my last trip. Just a small cut that bled a lot. The bandage is a precaution, that's all."

"Ok," Rose looked like she wanted to ask further, but seemed to think better of it. "Gotta admit, I like you better with clothes on."

Ember blushed, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her. "Yeah. I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't be. I'm not the one who turned up butt naked in front of two cute guys."

"Oh my god, you're right!" The brunette looked mortified at the realisation that she'd flashed her friends. "Ok, I'm going to go back to my room and stay there for the rest of my life, ok, thanks..."

Rose laughed as she grabbed Ember by the arm and turned her back around. "You can't hide forever! And besides, they won't hold it against you."

Ember took a breath. "Yea, you're right. And it could have been worse."

"Exactly! Now, let's go. We're going to Cardiff to refuel."

* * *

A little bit earlier...

Rose had decided she wanted to change and call Mickey to arrange when to meet them in Cardiff. That left the Doctor and Jack Harkness in the console room to wait for the girls.

"So... does she do that often?" Jack asked.

"Does who do what often?" The Doctor said from where he was checking something on the monitor.

"Ember. Drop in in her birthday suit."

The Doctor looked over the monitor at the 51st century man. "No, she's normally relatively dressed."

Jack raised a brow. "So there's times when she wasn't 'relatively dressed'?"

"I don't think she would want us talking about what she's wearing when she jumps."

"Fair enough." Jack said. The Doctor turned back to the monitor, missing the smirk. "Nice legs, though. And cute bottom."

"I suppose." The Doctor said without thinking before he realised his slip and cursed under his breath, hoping that the other man hadn't heard.

Luck was not on his side, however, as Jack did catch the slip. "So you were looking?"

The Doctor moved his face so that Jack wouldn't see the light blush on it. "Well, she just appeared and shouted like there was trouble. Of course I'd look to see what's wrong."

"But then you _kept_ looking," Jack pointed out, a grin crossing his face.

"I was surprised! You were looking too!"

"Yea, but I know she's outta my league. _You're_ still in the running, though."

The Doctor didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't, focusing on piloting the ship and pointedly ignoring the grinning captain.

A few minutes later, the Tardis landed, just as Rose and Ember returned to the console room, though the latter blushed as Jack gave her a cheeky wolf whistle. The Doctor sent him a stern look from where he was up on a ladder and mending something while wearing a light over his forehead.

"Right, just need to wait for Mickey," the Doctor said.

Ember nodded as she sat on the captain's chair, though she looked up when Jack approached her. "Hi."

"Heya, Firebird," he replied with a smile. "So, is this the first time you meet me?"

"No," Ember shook her head. "I've met you once before. And it's _way_ in your future, so I can't tell you what happened."

Jack nodded, but then he looked thoughtful. "How do I look in the future?"

Ember faltered at that. She couldn't tell him that he'd end up living for thousands of years as a giant head, after all. "Well... you've gotten big..."

"Aw, man, I get fat?" Jack asked, looking mortified. "Does my hair go grey? What about wrinkles?"

"Let's just say you look a lot different in the future." Ember said after a moment. "So where are we?"

"Roald Dahl Plass," The Doctor called from where he was working. "Cardiff. We're refuelling."

Before anyone else could speak, there was a knock on the door leading out of the Tardis. Jack was the first to get to the door and opened it just enough for him to lean out. "Who the hell are you?"

"What do you mean, who the hell am I?" Ember could just about hear Mickey talking. "Who the hell are you?"

"Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever your selling, we're not buying."

"Get out of my way!" Mickey pushed his way past the taller man and into the Tardis.

"Don't tell me." Jack said, closing the door. "This must be Mickey."

The Doctor glanced over. "Here comes trouble! How're you doing, Ricky boy?"

"It's Mickey!"

"Don't listen to him," Rose said as she met him at the console, "he's winding you up."

Mickey smiled and hugged her. "You look fantastic."

"Aw, sweet, look at these two." Jack said from the other side of the console, just to the right of Ember. "How come I never get any of that?"

"Buy me a drink first." The Doctor shot back.

"You're such hard work."

The Doctor gave a cheeky grin. "But worth it."

Ember smiled, though it turned into a blush when Jack looked at her next. "What about you, Firebird? Would you like a drink?"

"M-maybe later," she mumbled.

"Did you manage to find it?" Rose asked Mickey.

The young man nodded, handing over a passport. "There you go."

Rose smiled and waved the passport at the Doctor. "I can go anywhere now."

"I told you, you don't need a passport."

"It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon, but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I'm prepared for anything."

"Not for another dimension," Ember murmured, not realising that she'd said it loud enough for Jack to hear her. He raised a brow, but didn't ask.

"Sounds like your staying, then." Mickey said, trying not to sound put down. "So, what're you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash? I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big-ears up there-"

"Oi!"

"Look in the mirror. But this guy, I don't know, he's kind of..."

"Handsome?" Jack offered.

"More like cheesy."

"Early twenty first Century slang." Jack mused. "Is cheesy good or bad?"

"It's bad."

"But bad means good, isn't that right?"

"Are you saying I'm not handsome?" The Doctor asked.

Ember shrugged and muttered "You are to me," before realising what she'd said. She glanced around with wide eyes, but it looked like almost everyone hadn't heard her. Almost; Jack was giving her a cheeky smirk that told her he'd heard.

"We just stopped off." Rose explained to Mickey, not having heard the brunette. "We need to refuel. The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible, but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions."

"The rift was healed back in 1869." The Doctor added as he got down off the ladder.

"Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth, because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it, and Ember lent a hand too."

Jack stood. "But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race-"

"But perfect for the Tardis," The Doctor said, "So just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and-"

"Open up the engines, soak up the radiation."

"Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!" Rose said.

"Into time!"

"And space!" The three of them said together, high-fiving each other since they were by now all stood in front of Mickey.

Who looked at them like they were mad. "My God, have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Yep!" Jack gave Mickey a playful slap.

Ember smiled from where she was still sat in the chair. "Everyone's clever in some way or other."

The Doctor walked over to her and offered his hand, helping her up and leading her to the doors. "May as well go get a bite to eat while we're here." He went past Jack as the man went to grab his beige jacket, leading the group out of the Tardis. "Should take another twenty four hours, which means we've got time to kill."

"That old lady's staring." Mickey said, pointing.

Jack shrugged as he closed the Tardis door behind him. "Probably wondering what five people could do inside a small wooden box."

"What are you captain of, the Innuendo Squad?" Mickey ignored Jack's universal gesture for 'whatever'. "Wait, the Tardis, we can't just leave it. Doesn't it get noticed?"

"Yeah, what's with the police box?" Jack asked. "Why does it look like that?"

"It's a cloaking device." Rose said.

"Chameleon circuit," Ember corrected gently.

The Doctor nodded. "The Tardis is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands, like if this was Ancient Rome, it'd be a statue on a plinth or something. But I landed in the 1960s, it disguised itself as a police box, and the circuit got stuck."

Mickey looked at the blue box. "So it copied a real thing? There actually was police boxes?"

"Yeah, on street corners. Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside till help came, like a little prison cell."

"Why don't you just fix the circuit?" Jack asked.

Ember shrugged. "Why? It looks nice like this. Better than the default design."

The Doctor nodded again. "I like it, don't you?"

"I love it." Rose agreed with a grin.

Mickey shook his head. "But that's what I meant. There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn't it get noticed?"

"Not really," Ember said. "Remember the spaceship crashing into the Thames? Everybody saw it, but now they believe it's a hoax."

The Doctor threw an arm around Mickey's shoulders. "Ricky, let me tell you something about the human race. You put a mysterious blue box slap bang in the middle of town, what do they do?" He cut off the man before he could speak. "Walk past it. Now, stop your nagging. Let's go and explore."

"What's the plan?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. Cardiff, early twenty first century and the wind's coming from the east. Trust me. Safest place in the universe."

"And now you've gone and jinxed it," Ember said, shrugging when everyone looked at her. "I'll let you know when there's trouble."

* * *

A short time later, the group of five found themselves in a riverside restaurant, enjoying lunch while Jack told them stories about his past misadventures.

"I swear, six feet tall and with big tusks-"

"You're lying through your teeth!" The Doctor said.

Rose was laughing so hard she was almost crying. "I'd have gone bonkers! That's the word - bonkers!"

"I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean _tusks_! And it's woken, and it's not happy." Jack continued.

"How could you not know it was there?"

"And we're standing there, fifteen of us, naked-"

"Naked?!"

"And I'm like, 'oh, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me.' And then it roars, and we are running. Oh my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say-"

"I knew we should've turned left!" Mickey cut in.

"That's my line!"

"I don't believe you!" Rose said, wiping her eyes. "I don't believe a word you say ever. That is so brilliant. Did you ever get your clothes back?"

Ember, who was sat next to the Doctor, finally spotted a man hold his newspaper up to read it, so she nudged the Time Lord and pointed. The Doctor saw the front page and lost his smile, getting up to take the paper to look for himself.

"No, I just picked him up, went right for the ship, full throttle. Didn't stop until I hit the spacelanes. I was shaking. It was unbelievable. It freaked me out, and by the time I got fifteen light years away I realised I'm like this..." Jack had been saying, only to trail off when he saw the Doctor's expression.

"And I was having such a nice day." He said as he turned the paper so the group could see the front page. On it was a familiar face: Margaret the Slitheen, her hand up as though she'd tried to stop the photo from being taken.

Everyone looked at Ember, who shrugged. "Told you."

* * *

After a quick briefing to fill Jack in on what had happened, the group made their way to city hall.

"According to intelligence, the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit." Jack summerised as they entered the front foyer of the building. "Okay, plan of attack, we assume a basic fifty seven fifty six strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face. That'll designate Exit One. Firebird and I will cover Exit Two. Rose, you take Exit Three. Mickey Smith, you take Exit Four. Have you got that?"

"Excuse me." The Doctor said. "Who's in charge?"

Jack nodded. "Sorry. Awaiting orders, sir."

"Right, here's the plan." A pause. "Like he said. Nice plan, except Ember comes with me."

The brunette blinked. "Um, won't I just slow you down?"

"Not at all. Anything else?"

Jack sent the Doctor a cheeky wink and mouthed 'you're welcome' before he pulled a mobile phone from his pocket. "Present arms."

Rose, Mickey and the Doctor pulled out a phone.

"Ready." Each of them said.

"Ready. Speed dial?"

"Yup."

"Ready."

"Check."

"See you in hell." Jack gave them a two-fingered salute before he walked off. The Doctor took Ember by the hand and led her away.

Ember bit her lip before she spoke. "Um, so why did I have to come with you?"

"You didn't _have_ to." The Doctor corrected lightly. "But if you went with Jack, he'd probably flirt with you more than anything, even though he knows you're not interested."

"Good point," Ember said, and then blinked. "Wait, who said I wasn't interested?"

"You did. When we met him in London. But since you've probably not been there yet, I guess it's a spoiler."

"Ah."

A few minutes later, after getting through security with only a few flashes of psychic paper, the Time Lords reached the Mayor's office, where a young man sat at a desk outside with an incredibly bored expression.

"Hello," The Doctor said as soon as they reached the desk. "We've come to see the Lord Mayor."

The man looked at them, puzzled. "Have you got an appointment?"

"No, just old friends passing by. Bit of a surprise. Can't wait to see her face."

"Well, she's just having a cup of tea..."

Ember put on her best smile, ignoring how the man's eyes kept wandering to the scar on her cheek. "If you don't mind, we're kinda in a rush, and I'm sure she'll be leaping out of her seat when she hears that it's us."

"Just go in there and tell her the Doctor would like to see her." The Doctor added.

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor. Tell her exactly that. The Doctor."

"Hang on a tick." The man reluctantly stood up and went to the office doors, closing it behind him.

The Doctor raised a brow when they heard the sound of a teacup breaking. "She leapt out of her seat, didn't she?"

"I can only speculate, but it's a funny thought." Ember replied with a shrug just before the man returned, looking a little more shaken.

"The Lord Mayor says thank you for popping by." He said nervously. "She'd love to have a chat, but, um... she's up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps if you could make an appointment for next week?"

The Doctor gave him a flat look. "She's climbing out the window, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is."

Nodding, the Doctor easily pushed the man aside before he and Ember entered the office, finding it empty and the window wide open. The two were quick to make their way out of it and onto a stone balcony, where they spotted Margaret climbing down a ladder on some scaffolding.

The man followed and tried to grab the Doctor, keeping him from giving chase. "Leave the Mayor alone!"

"Go! I'll catch up!" The Doctor called to Ember.

The brunette only hesitated for a moment before she took off, running along the balcony to the scaffolding and jumping onto it just as Margaret got off the ladder. Ember was quick to follow, only about ten feet from the alien in disguise. "No point running, Blon!"

"How the hell do you know that?!" Margaret yelled back, though she didn't stop running or assembling her jewellery into what it was supposed to be. Ember saw Jack and Rose cutting off her exits, making them backtrack as the Doctor caught up to them, regrouping at the side of the building.

"Who's on Exit Four?" Jack asked.

"That was Mickey!" Rose answered.

The man himself appeared from their left, panting, while trying to get a string of toilet roll off his leg. "Here I am..."

"Mickey the idiot." The Doctor shook his head.

"Oh, be fair." Rose said, watching Margaret run. "She's not exactly going to outrun us, is she?"

"And there's the jinx again," Ember said flatly as Margaret suddenly vanished in a blue light.

Jack groaned. "She's got a teleport! That's cheating! Now we're never going to get her."

"Oh, the Doctor's very good at teleports." Rose smiled as the Doctor held up his Sonic.

With the press of a button, Margaret reappeared, running towards them. She stopped and turned around, disappearing again. Another press, and she reappeared, a bit closer. One more time, she vanished, and then was made to reappear, where she finally stopped in front of them, panting.

"I could do this all day." The Doctor said casually.

"This is persecution." Margaret said, holding her hands up. "Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"

"You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet."

"...Apart from that."

Ember rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're right. We have no reason to think you're up to something, like for example, destroying this planet? What was it you said last time? 'Bargain' if I remember right."

Margaret gave her a flat look. "I might have changed my ways, for all you know."

"Sure, and I can fly using my pinkys." Ember turned to the rest of the group. "Let's go back to her office. There's something there that'll explain everything."

* * *

The group of five escorted Margaret back to her office, where she dismissed her receptionist so they could talk in private.

"So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped." The Doctor said as they made their way into the Mayor's office. "Your family get killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do?" he was quick to spot a scale model of Cardiff with a new feature. "You build a nuclear power station. But what for?"

"A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways." Margaret said.

"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift."

"What rift would that be?"

Jack raised a brow. "A rift in space and time. If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go 'shucboom'!"

The Doctor nodded. "This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity."

"Didn't anyone notice?" Rose asked. "Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?"

Margaret scoffed. "We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice." She blinked in realisation. "Oh. I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."

"What's wrong with Welsh?" Ember asked. She couldn't remember if she had been Welsh in her 'human' life, but that had stung a little. To her credit, Margaret looked slightly sheepish. "But Rose has a point. People did notice, but they 'mysteriously vanish' before they could make it public."

"But why would she do that?" Mickey asked. "A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself."

Margaret glared at him. "She's got a name, you know."

"She's not even a she, she's a thing."

"First of all, Mickey, that's kinda rude. Aliens can have genders too, or not, but it's not up to you to decide." Ember rolled her eyes, gesturing to the grey section on the model. "Second, Doctor, have a closer look at that model. It isn't just for show."

"Oh, but she's clever," the Doctor reached over and pulled out the grey section of the model, turning it over to reveal electronics inside. "Fantastic."

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?" Jack said in one breath, looking excited.

"Couldn't have put it better myself."

"Ooh, genius!" Jack took the board from the Doctor. "You didn't build this!"

Margaret shrugged modestly. "I have my hobbies. A little tinkering."

"No, no, no. I mean, you really didn't build this. Way beyond you."

"I bet she stole it." Mickey said.

"It fell into my hands."

"Is it a weapon?" Rose asked, eyeing the board.

"It's transport." Jack said, putting the board on the floor and standing on it. "You see, if the reactor blows, the rift opens. Phenomenal cosmic disaster. But this thing shrouds you in a forcefield. You have this energy bubble - zhoom - so you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system."

"It's a surfboard." Mickey said.

"A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah."

Margaret looked unimpressed. "And it would've worked. I'd have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilisation."

"You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?"

"Like stepping on an anthill."

The Doctor had moved away from the group by then, looking at a promotional poster and banner for the power plant that was written in Welsh as well as part English. Ember moved to his side and nudged him. "You should ask her."

"How'd you think of the name?" He spoke aloud.

"What, Blaidd Drwg?" Margaret said, walking around the table toward them. "It's Welsh."

"I know, but how did you think of it?"

"I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good. Does it matter?"

The Doctor turned to face them, looking thoughtful. "Blaidd Drwg..."

"What's it mean?" Rose asked.

"Bad Wolf."

Rose paled. "But I've heard that before. Bad Wolf. I've heard that lots of times."

"Everywhere we go. Two words following us. Bad Wolf..."

"How can they be following us?"

The Doctor looked at Ember. She was still staring up at the banner, but the sclera in her eyes seemed to reflect silver for a moment. "Do you know why it's doing that?"

Ember nodded, blinking hard as though coming out of a trance. "Yea, but it's a spoiler. And it's a good one. Kinda."

The Doctor looked at her for another moment before he turned to address the rest of the group. "Nah, just a coincidence. Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do. Margaret, we're going to take you home."

"Hold on," Jack said. "Isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?"

"I don't believe it! We actually get to go to Raxa..." Rose saw the Doctor roll his eyes. "Wait a minute! Raxacor..."

"Raxacoricofallapatorius." The Doctor and Ember said at the same time.

"Raxacorico-"

"-fallapatorius."

"Raxacoricofallapatorius." Rose grinned and hugged the Doctor. "That's it! I did it!"

"They have the death penalty." Margaret said, killing the mood instantly. "The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death."

The Doctor turned to leave the room. "Not my problem."

As the group left the Mayor's office, Ember hung back so she could walk in line with Jack, who was carrying the extrapolator. "Be careful with that. It might have a kick."

Jack smiled. "Kinda like you and the Doctor, huh, Firebird?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, come on, it's obvious you like him."

Ember choked on her own saliva. "W-Wha?"

Jack made sure he and Ember hung back a little so that they could talk without being overheard. "Wait, are you saying you haven't figured that out yet?"

"Well, actually, I have," Ember said. "But I've decided not to act on it."

"You're not? Why not?"

"This is why not." Ember pointed to the scar on her cheek. "I can't tell you what happened, but this is a reminder that I messed up. I let someone down when I could have saved them, and when the Doctor gets there, he's going to be reminded of that failure every time he looks at me. He's told me that it's okay, at least I tried, but that wasn't the case all the time. Sometimes I feel like I could have saved more people by now, if I'd only done more."

Jack gently pat her arm. "I'm sure you did your best in the circumstances."

"Well, we'll see about that, won't we?"

* * *

Night had fallen by the time the group and their captive returned to the Tardis. Margaret was amazed by the size of it.

"This ship is impossible!" She said, running her hands over the console. "It's superb. How do you get the outside around the inside?"

The Doctor gave her a flat look. "Like I'd give you the secret, yeah."

"Hot glue and lots of duct tape," Ember said distractedly, seemingly unaware that she had spoken.

Margaret looked puzzled at the weird response, but chose to ignore it, looking at the console with interest. "I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods."

"Don't worship me - I'd make a very bad god." The Doctor said. "You wouldn't get a day off, for starters. Jack, how we doing, big fella?"

"This extrapolator's top of the range." Jack replied, working to attach the board to the Tardis console. Ember had given him a light warning, but it didn't deter him. "Where did you get it?"

Margaret shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Some airlock sale?"

"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power."

"But we can use it for fuel?" The Doctor asked.

"It's not compatible, but it should knock off about twelve hours. We'll be ready to go by morning."

"Then we're stuck here, overnight."

Margaret shrugged again, picking up a ball that seemed to be made of ball bearings. "I'm in no hurry."

"We've got a prisoner." Rose said. "The police box is really a police box."

"You're not just police, though." Margaret pointed out. "Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."

"Well, you deserve it." Mickey said.

"You're very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me, how, exactly?" Margaret moved to sit on the captain's chair. "Long night ahead. Let's see who can look me in the eye."

Mickey held out for all of one second. Rose looked away immediately. Jack didn't even try, and the Doctor barely glanced at her. But when she got to Ember, she was surprised when the brunette met her gaze without flinching. The two women stared, and Margaret was sure she saw Ember's eyes turn completely silver for a moment, the glint almost judging. It was enough to put her off, making her turn her eyes to the ball in her hands.

It wasn't long until Mickey couldn't take it anymore, excusing himself to go outside for some fresh air. Rose followed not long after. The Doctor worked on something on the console, looking at the monitor.

"So, what's on?" Jack asked.

The Doctor quickly turned off the monitor. "Nothing, just... nothing."

"I gather it's not always like this, having to wait." Margaret said, having moved so that she was sat in the edge of the steps leading down, with her back to them. "I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences. How does it feel?"

"I didn't butcher them."

"Don't answer back. That's what she wants." Jack said.

"I didn't." The Doctor replied before he looked at the alien in disguise. "What about you? You had an emergency teleport. You didn't zap them to safety, did you?"

"It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs." She heard the Doctor chuckle. "It wasn't funny."

"Sorry." The Doctor held a straight face for a few seconds before him and Jack laughed. "It is a bit funny."

Margaret cracked a smile. "Do I get a last request?"

"Depends what it is."

"I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant just round the Bay. It became quite a favourite of mine."

The Doctor turned and walked over to lean on the railing as he looked at her. "Is that what you want, a last meal?"

"Don't I have rights?"

"Oh, like she's not going to try to escape." Jack said.

"Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger?" Margaret said before she faced the Doctor fully. "I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill, and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough."

"I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies. Now dine with them."

"You won't change my mind."

"Prove it."

The Doctor turned away, going back to the console. "There are people out there. If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger."

Jack stepped in, holding up what looked like two glass bangles. "Except I've got these. You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away..." he made a 'bzzzt' sound that made the Slitheen jump. "She gets zapped by ten thousand volts."

The Doctor turned again, smiling. "Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat."

"Dinner in bondage. Works for me."

"Yeah, save the flirting," Ember said.

Jack suddenly grinned mischievously and pushed Ember forward. "And why not have a backup plan? If she somehow manages to get away without getting zapped, Firebird here can be on hand to chargrill her."

Ember looked at him in shock, blushing when he winked at her. She was about to refuse when the Doctor took her hand. "I'd be thrilled if you could come too."

Blushing, Ember couldn't find her voice nor could she refuse him, so she nodded.

* * *

The trio made their way to the restaurant, Margaret and the Doctor now wearing the glass bracelets. Ember resigned herself to playing bodyguard, even though she knew that it wasn't needed.

The restaurant was a nice place by the river with a lovely view, and the three were seated to the table next to the one they would have had if it was only two of them.

"Here we are, out on a date, and you haven't even asked my proper name." Margaret said.

"It's not a date." The Doctor corrected, though he discreetly glanced at Ember when she was busy looking at the menu. "What's your name?"

"Blon. I am Blon Fel Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen."

That made the Doctor look at Ember properly. "That's why you've been calling her Blon."

"Yep," Ember said. "Thought maybe calling her by her first name would make her think twice, but apparently not."

"Though she won't tell me how she knew that before I said it," Margaret said, closing her menu. "Anyway, that's what it'll say on my death certificate."

"Nice to meet you, Blon." The Doctor said.

"I'm sure. Look, that's where I was living as Margaret. Nice little flat, over there, on the top. Next to the one with the light on." The alien in disguise waited until they looked the other way so that she could slip some kind of powder from her ring into the Doctor's glass of wine. She would have put it in Ember's drink, but she'd ordered a coke and it came in a glass bottle that made it difficult to slip powder into. "Two bedrooms, bayside view. I was rather content. Don't suppose I'll see it again."

The Time Lords turned back to her, seemingly unaware of her scheme, but then Ember picked up the two glasses of wine and swapped them round. "I thought you'd been served the wrong glasses."

Margaret gave her a false smile. "Thank you."

"No problem."

The Slitheen looked at the Doctor. "Tell me then, Doctor. What do you know of our species?"

"Only what I've seen."

"Did you know, for example, in extreme cases, when her life is in danger, a female Raxacoricofallapatorian can manufacture a poison dart within her own finger." She pointed a finger at Ember, to the brunette's surprise, but the Doctor swiftly caught the dart that came flying at her without even looking up from the menu.

"Yes, I did." He said, pocketing the dart.

"Just checking. And one more thing. between you and me..." she glanced around before leaning forward and lowering her voice so that the Doctor had to lean forward to hear her. "As a final resort, the excess poison can be exhaled through the lungs."

She started to exhale, but the Doctor whipped out a breath spray and squirted it in her mouth.

"That's better." He said, going back to looking at the menu, ignoring Margaret as she stuck out her tongue. "Now then, what do you think? Mmm, steak looks nice. Steak and chips."

"I'll stick to a burger and chips, myself." Ember said.

Things were quiet as they made their order and the food was soon served. Ember was quick to eat her food, knowing what was coming next.

"Public execution is a slow death." Margaret said, right on cue. "They prepare a thin acetic acid, lower me into the cauldron and boil me. The acidity is perfectly gauged to strip away the skin. Internal organs fall out into the liquid, and I become soup. And still alive, still screaming."

Ember swallowed hard, glad to have finished eating before she'd heard that. And very glad that none of them had ordered soup.

"I don't make the law." The Doctor pointed out.

"But you deliver it. Will you stay to watch?"

"What else can I do?"

"The Slitheen family's huge. There's a lot more of us, all scattered off-world. Take me to them. Take me somewhere safe."

The Doctor gave her a look. "But then you'll just start again."

"I promise I won't."

"It's a bit hard to believe that, considering your track record." Ember pointed out.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "You've been in that skin suit too long. You've forgotten. There used to be a real Margaret Blaine. You killed her and stripped her and used the skin. You're pleading for mercy out of a dead woman's lips."

"Perhaps I have got used to it." Margaret said. "A human life, an ordinary life. That's all I'm asking. Give me a chance, Doctor. I can change."

"I don't believe you."

"I promise you I've changed since we last met, Doctor. There was this girl, just today. A young thing, and something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the blood lust rising, just as the family taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought. And then... I stopped. She's alive somewhere right now. She's walking around this city because I can change. I _did_ change. I know I can't prove it..."

The Doctor looked at Ember, who nodded. "I believe you."

"Then you know I'm capable of better."

"It doesn't mean anything."

"I spared her life!"

"You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim's spared because she smiled, because he's got freckles, because they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction... you happen to be kind."

"Only a killer would know that." Margaret pointed out. "Is that right? From what I've seen, your funny little happy go lucky little life leaves devastation in its wake. Always moving on because you dare not look back. Playing with so many peoples lives, you might as well be a god."

"You have no right to judge." Ember said to her firmly, taking the alien by surprise. It was only the Doctor's hand grabbing hers under the table that stopped her from standing up.

Margaret took a moment to gather herself before she looked at the Doctor again. "And you're right, Doctor. You're absolutely right. Sometimes you let one go. Let me go."

The Doctor seemed to hesitate, so Ember spoke up. "Everyone is responsible for their own actions, and must live with their decisions. No one made you kill anyone on this planet."

"In the family Slitheen, we had no choice. I was made to carry out my first kill at thirteen. If I'd refused, my father would have fed me to the Venom Grubs. If I'm a killer, it's because I was born to kill. It's all I know." Margaret tried to plead her case, only to notice that the Doctor was looking out of the window. "Doctor, are you even listening to me?"

"Can you hear that?" He asked. He'd heard a faint rumbling, and the way Ember squeezed his hand twice let him know that she'd heard it too.

Only it wasn't just that she'd heard it. Ember was surprised when she felt this sudden... awareness that the ground was shaking, like a sixth sense telling her that something bad was happening on a level she wasn't aware of.

"I'm begging for my life!" Margaret added, unaware of their thoughts.

"No, listen, shush..."

The glasses on the table began to shake, catching his attention just before the windows smashed with what felt like an earthquake. Customers screamed and ran for cover as the Doctor jumped to his feet, covering Ember with his own body in case the shards reached her.

"We need to get back to the Tardis," the brunette told him when he backed off.

The Doctor grabbed her hand and took off, leading them back to the Tardis. They were barely halfway there when Ember stopped, making the other Time Lord stop as well, and pointed to where Margaret was struggling to keep up.

"The handcuffs!" She called, panting.

The Doctor waited for her and then took off her cuff, making sure he had a hold of the alien's arm. "Don't think you're running away."

"Oh, I'm sticking with you. Some date this turned out to be!"

They ran, avoiding falling rubble and screaming people, back to the plaza where the Tardis was parked, shocked to find energy shooting up into the sky from it. It was like looking at the beginnings of a storm, and Ember could somehow _feel_ how weak that description was.

"It's the rift. The rift's opening!" The Doctor said.

Ember ran forward as the concrete cracked and split open around them. She wasn't aware of it, but she moved like she knew where the next crack was going to appear, allowing the Doctor and Margaret to follow on the revealed safe path. The brunette got to the Tardis first, opening the door for them and running in to find the console sparking and everything shaking.

"What the hell are you doing?" The Doctor yelled to Jack, who flinched back from another spark.

"It just went crazy!"

"It's the rift. Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear!"

The boys tried to work on fixing the problem. Ember moved to help, but then her head throbbed as a vision claimed her...

_Margaret had grabbed Rose with her clawed hand, taunting the boys. Before the console could open, the Slitheen choked the young woman to death, her lifeless body crumpling to the floor..._

Ember gasped as she shook herself out of the vision, using the chaos to move herself between Margaret and the doors.

"It's the extrapolator!" Jack called above the noise. "I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine! It's using the Tardis, I can't stop it!"

The Doctor looked grim. "Never mind Cardiff, it's going to rip open the planet!"

Rose, who had seen the chaos outside and had come running back, entered the Tardis. "What is it? What's happening?!"

"Oh, just little me!" Margaret said before she lunged for the blonde, pulling her arm out of her skin suit. At the last moment, however, Rose was shoved aside and the Slitheen found herself with her exposed fingers around Ember's neck, though she made no move to release the brunette as the boys made to confront her. "One wrong move and she snaps like a promise."

The Doctor frowned as he and Jack stopped. "I might've known."

"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it!" Margaret moved closer to the console, forcing Ember to go with her, before she looked at Jack. "You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet."

Jack hesitated for a moment, and Margaret tightened her grip on Ember, who made a choked sound. The Doctor nodded at him, making the Captain pick up the device and place it at Margaret's feet.

"Thank you. Just as I planned."

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station." Rose said, having recovered from Ember's shove.

Ember coughed slightly. "That was plan A."

"Exactly," Margaret said. "Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B." She used her free hand to pull Ember's hair to the side and out of the way, drawing another choked sound out of her. "To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I'm back on schedule, thanks to you."

"The rift's going to convulse." Jack said, trying to make her see reason. "You'll destroy the whole planet!"

"And you with it! While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys. Surf's up."

Suddenly, a section of the Tardis console cracked open and bright light came out, illuminating Margaret and Ember.

"Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart." The Doctor said.

"So sue me."

"It's not just any old power source. It's the Tardis. My Tardis. The best ship in the universe."

"It'll make wonderful scrap." Margaret said, though she was beginning to get distracted by the light.

Rose noticed. "What's that light?"

"The heart of the Tardis." The Doctor replied. "This ship's alive. You've opened its soul."

Margaret looked transfixed by the light now. "It's... so bright..."

"Look at it, Margaret."

"Beautiful..."

"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light."

Margaret relaxed, her hand loosening and allowing Ember to move it away from her neck, but the brunette was almost as transfixed by the light as well, and she was sure she could hear singing in her mind.

_"You... who saved my Thief..."_

Ember didn't look away even as she heard a disembodied voice speak to her. Who...?

_"Who will continue to save my Thief..."_

Thief? Who's a thief?

_"Mother of Elements... She who will protect them..."_

Wait, she wasn't supposed to be looking at the light, was she? Wasn't it going to hurt her?

_"I would never hurt my precious Ember..."_ the voice came with what could be described as a gentle breeze against her face. _"Whose presence is ever eternal..."_

What? What did that mean?

_"Patience, child. You will learn soon..."_

Before Ember could comprehend what she'd just heard, the sound of the Doctor's voice became clearer, like she was coming out of water. "Don't look. Stay there. Close your eyes! Jack, get Ember!"

She felt someone grab her and cover her eyes with a large hand, but she didn't resist. She then heard the slam of the console being closed as she was moved to sit on the captain's chair and the hands left her, though her eyes remained closed.

"Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down. Shut down! Rose, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right!"

After a few seconds, everything went calm, and Ember slowly blinked open her eyes like she'd been asleep. The Doctor, Jack and Rose were standing at different sections of the console, looking relieved at last. The uneasy feeling she'd had since the ground started shaking had also eased, and she was sure she heard the last bit of thunder outside before the storm completely disappeared.

"Nicely done." The Doctor said, grinning at the other two. "Thank you, all."

Jack moved to kneel in front of Ember, who still looked half asleep. "You with us, Firebird?"

"Um, yeah..." Ember shook her head to clear it. "What happened?"

"You were fine until she let you go, but then you were staring at that light you were mesmerised," Rose said. "Speaking of, what happened to Margaret?"

Jack stood and looked around, finding the skin suit that the Slitheen had been wearing now crumpled on the floor like an old shirt. "Must've got burnt up. Carried out her own death sentence."

"No, I don't think she's dead." The Doctor said, moving to Ember's side to check that she was alright.

"Then where'd she go?"

"She looked into the heart of the Tardis. Even I don't know how strong that is. And the ship's telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head. Translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts." The Doctor saw Ember point to the skin suit, and he moved to check it himself, finding a dark green, oval-shaped object with tendrils. "Here she is."

Rose blinked. "She's an egg?"

"Regressed to her childhood."

"She's an egg?" Jack asked.

"She can start again. Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right!"

"Or she might be worse."

"That's her choice."

"She's an egg." Rose had to say again.

The Doctor grinned. "She's an egg."

Rose suddenly gasped. "Oh, my God. Mickey!"

She ran out of the Tardis, intent on finding her boyfriend. The Doctor moved back to kneel in front of Ember, who was still looking a little dazed.

"Are you alright?" He asked the brunette.

Ember shook her head again. "Yea. Kinda feels like coming out of a dream, but slower. How long was I out of it?"

"About a second."

That made Ember blink hard. She'd heard a voice and singing, and it felt like it had lasted much longer than a second. "Whoa..."

"I'll say," Jack said with a cheeky grin. "You up for that drink now?"

"Maybe after we get her home," Ember gestured to the egg the Doctor was holding. "Then I'd like to see what I can handle."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, standing up. "After we've dropped her off, we can go to a bar planet. Not only do they have the best of alcoholic beverages, but they have a quick-sobering medicine that doesn't make you sick or taste like mouthwash."

"What does it taste like?"

"Whatever you like. You get to choose the flavour."

After checking to make sure they were in good shape to leave, the trio patiently waited for Rose, who soon came in looking disappointed.

"We're all powered up. We can leave." The Doctor said. "Opening the rift filled us up with energy. We can go, if that's all right."

"Yeah, fine." Rose said distractedly.

The Doctor noticed her somber mood. "How's Mickey?"

"He's okay. He's gone."

"Do you want to go and find him? We'll wait."

"No need. He deserves better."

"Off we go, then. Always moving on."

Jack nodded. "Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now you don't often get to say that."

"We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery. Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. A second chance."

"That'd be nice." Rose said, moving to the captain's chair and poking Ember on the shoulder. "You okay? You kinda spaced out for a second there."

Ember nodded. "Yea. And after we've dropped off Margaret, we're going to a bar. Looks like we can both do with a drink."

Rose laughed and nodded, and the two women watched the Doctor pilot the Tardis to their next adventure.

* * *

And there it is. Ember ended up getting stuck on the supposed 'date', and she got to see into the heart of the Tardis without burning up like the others. What will that mean for her in the future? Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?

Next Time: Ember reaches her next milestone in the Wild West, and it's a big one. Stay tuned!


	13. Chapter Thirteen: A Town Called Mercy

Ok, and here is the next one!

To answer a couple of the reviews: yes, Ember's reaction to the Time Vortex will be connected to Bad Wolf. But it's gonna be a while before we find out how her presence changes things.

In the meantime, time for that milestone I mentioned. Oh, and there's a virtual cookie for anyone who can spot the reference to another popular franchise. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: A Town Called Mercy

* * *

Ember grumbled as she jumped, barely staying on her feet by putting her hand on the nearest available wall to steady herself. "Why now? Now I'll never find out why going left was so important!"

"Who the hell are you?!"

The brunette turned at the sound of a man's voice, blinking as she finally took in her new surroundings. She was in what looked like a cell in old Western films. A man in typical Western cowboy gear and sporting a moustache was looking at her from the outside of the cell, his pistol out and pointed at her. "Um..."

"I said, who the hell are you?" The man asked again. "And how the hell did you get in here?"

"Um..." Ember wasn't given the chance to think as the door on the far side of the room opened, and in came the Doctor, Rory and Amy, who all stopped and looked at the scene in puzzlement. "Hi, guys! Mind telling this nice man to put down the gun, please?"

The Doctor was quick to act first, dashing across the room to put himself between the gun and the cell. "It's alright! She's with us! Please don't shoot."

The man with the gun blinked. "She wasn't with you when you arrived. And how did she get in there?"

"She was, um... scouting!" Rory said. "Yea, she went ahead to scope out the place, you know, for danger."

Ember nodded, though she moved to hold the bars of the cell. "You tell 'em, Roman."

Amy moved closer so she could see their friend better, noticing how the brunette was a little unsteady on her feet. "Ember? Are you... drunk?"

"No!" Ember said quickly, then faltered when she saw that they weren't convinced. "... yes. A bit."

"Why are you drunk?" Rory asked. "What happened?"

"Well, we kinda found a bar..."

Amy tilted her head as the brunette trailed off. "... And?"

"And I drank it!" Ember paused, looking thoughtful. "Ooh, deja vu. Must have heard that somewhere. Have I said that before? Anyway, it wasn't just me, actually. Jack was there. He asked if I wanted a drink and I thought heck, I may as well go find out how much I can handle. So we kinda had a drinking contest."

The Doctor looked at her after finally getting the man to lower his gun. "So this is where you went."

"Wait, what?" Rory looked at him. "You know what she's talking about?"

"Well, yes. We went to a bar planet, which is a planet that primarily has bars. And yes, we did have a bit of a competition, but I had to take Rose back to the Tardis because she really couldn't handle her drink."

Ember nodded. "So that left me and Jack. We had a bottle, then another, and before I knew it, it was all gone."

"You mean to say you drank all of the alcohol in the bar?" Amy asked, shocked.

"Of course not! Jack had some too. We were just heading to the next bar when I jumped. Oh, I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when he got back to the Tardis!"

The Doctor chuckled, moving to the bars to take the brunette's hands. "Yes, you would have laughed. I wasn't very happy with Jack for letting you get that drunk."

"And you! I got a bone to pick with you," Ember pointed at him as best she could since he was holding her hands. "You kissed me! On the lips! Said you wanted to do that after I kissed you in front of Agatha Christie! You know I only did that cuz you were poisoned! And that's not the only time you've done it, is it? You better have a good reason for me, smartass Mr Married Man!"

"... spoilers?"

Ember shook her head. "That's cheating!" Then she leaned her head against one of the bars, looking thoughtful. "You know, maybe it's a good thing I'm in here. I'm dangerous. I'll bend the elements to my will someday. I'm so dangerous, I scare the shadows." She looked over at the married couple. "Can you believe that? Oh they can eat a body right down to the bone, but they're scared of little old me! Ha!"

Amy caught the Doctor's eye and mouthed 'shadows?', but he waved her off as he faced Ember again. "It's alright..."

"I don't have the faintest idea what you're on about, but I think you should come outta there now." The marshall said, grabbing some keys and moving to unlock the door of the cell. The Doctor immediately guided the young woman out, letting her lean against a desk while he searched through his pockets.

"Where did I put it...?" He muttered to himself, then found what he was looking for: a bottle with little blue pills inside. "Aha! These will help you. Remember I told you they have ways of sobering up quick on that planet? Well, these aren't the instant ones, but they'll do the job."

Ember took the bottle and opened it, swallowing a pill without water. "How long does it take to work?"

"Not long. You should be fine in an hour, two at the most." The Doctor pat her on the head as he pocketed the bottle before turning to the Marshall. "What was that outside?"

The man sighed, moving to the other side of the desk. "The Gunslinger. Showed up three weeks back. We've been prisoners ever since. See that border line stretching round the town? Woke up one morning, there it was. Nothing gets past it, in or out. No supply wagons, no reinforcements. Pretty soon the whole town's going to starve to death."

Rory blinked. "But he let us in."

"You ain't carrying any food. Just four more mouths to feed. We'll all die even sooner now."

Ember suddenly made a sound and looked through her pockets, coming up with a nutrition bar and her bag of sweets. "It's not much, but it's one less mouth, right? Sorry, what was your name?"

"Marshal Isaac." The man looked puzzled at the odd food she'd come up with, but decided not to comment.

The Doctor smiled and took a sweet from the bag when Ember offered it to him. "What happens if someone crosses the line?"

Isaac picked up a Stetson and tossed it to the Doctor, allowing them to see that there was a clean bullet hole in it.

"Ah, well, he wasn't a very good shot, then."

"He was aiming for the hat." Isaac said.

"He shoots people's hats?"

"I think it was a warning shot." Amy corrected.

"Ah, no, yes. I see. Hmm..."

The redhead turned to Isaac. "What does he want? Has he issued some kind of demand?"

Isaac shook his head. "Says he wants us to give him the alien doctor."

"But that's you." Amy said to the Doctor. "Why would he want to kill you? Unless he's met you."

"And how could he know that we'd be here?" Rory asked, lowering his voice to add "_We_ didn't even know we'd be here."

Amy noticed Isaac watching them in confusion, and she chuckled nervously. "We were aiming for Mexico. The Doctor was taking us to see the Day of the Dead Festival."

"Mexico's two hundred miles due south." The Marshal said, noticing how the Doctor was looking up at the electric lights above their heads.

"Well, that's what happens when people get toast crumbs on the console." He gave Amy and Rory a pointed look before he turned to face Isaac again. "Anyway, I think it's about time I met him, don't you?"

"Who?" Isaac asked as the Doctor turned and hopped up to sit on the desk.

"The chap outside said I could be the alien doctor, but you said I wasn't, so you already know who it is. Two alien doctors. We're like buses. Resident eighty one, I presume, so beloved by the townsfolk he warranted an alteration to the sign. Probably because he rigged up these electrics, and I'm guessing he's in here, because if half the town suddenly wanted to throw me to my death, this is where I'd want to be."

Isaac looked a little uncomfortable. "I don't know what you-"

"It's alright, Isaac. I think the time for subterfuge has passed." A voice interrupted, making them all turn to look into the cell that they had thought only had Ember in it. Instead, a middle-aged man with small glasses and curved mark on the side of his face threw back the blankets that had been covering him, standing and walking up to the door. "Good afternoon. My name is Kahler-Jex. I'm the doctor."

Ember narrowed her eyes at the man, moving to lean against the wall on the far side of the room. "There's only one man in here who can call himself that, and here's a hint: it isn't Rory, it isn't Issac and it definitely isn't you."

The Doctor didn't seem to notice her apprehension, chalking it up to her having a looser tongue due to her current state, and shook the man's hand once Isaac had let him out of the cell. "The Kahler. I love the Kahler! They're one of the most ingenious races in the galaxy. Seriously, they could build a spaceship out of Tupperware and moss!"

"Alright." Amy said, gently pulling the Doctor back so he'd stop the handshake, and then she looked at the man. "How did you get here?"

"My craft crashed about a mile or so out of town." Jex explained as he and Isaac moved to sit at the desk. "I would have died if Isaac and the others hadn't pulled me from the wreckage."

"And you stayed, as their doctor." The Doctor said, having sat down on the other side of the desk. Amy and Rory were standing next to him.

"On my world I was a surgeon, so it seemed logical. And it gave me an opportunity to repay my debt to them."

Isaac chuckled. "Listen to him. Talking like it was nothing. Tell them about the cholera."

Jex shook his head. "Now, Isaac, I'm sure our guests are-"

"Two years after he arrived, there was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the doc here, not a single person died."

"A minor infection we'd found a treatment for centuries ago."

"No, no, what, what do you call them?" Isaac pointed to one of the lights. "The electrics?"

"Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town."

The Doctor nodded. "So why does the Gunslinger want you?"

"It don't matter." Isaac said.

"I'm just saying, if we knew that-"

"America's the land of second chances. We called this town Mercy for a reason. Others, some round here, don't feel that way."

Jex shook his head. "Now, Isaac, we've discussed this..."

"People whose lives you've saved are suddenly saying we should hand you over."

"They're scared, that's all. You can hardly blame them."

"Them being scared scares me. War only ended five years back. That old violence is still under the surface. We give up Doc Jex, then we hand the keys of the town over to chaos."

The Doctor looked thoughtful. "Did you try to repair your craft? Surely someone with your skills-"

"It really was very badly damaged."

"But not too damaged for you to use it to provide heat and power for a whole town," Ember spoke up. The time travelers were surprised to see her openly showing distaste for the man who claimed to be a doctor. "Bit of a coincidence, isn't it?"

The Doctor took note of that as he stood up. "We evacuate the town. Our ship's just over the hills, room for everyone. I'll pop out, bring it back here, Robert's your uncle."

Amy blinked, puzzled. "Really? Simple as that. No crazy schemes, no negotiations..."

"I've matured. I'm twelve hundred years old now. Plus I don't want to miss The Archers."

"Oh, so you're not even a tiny bit curious?"

"Why would I be curious? It's a mysterious space cowboy assassin. Curious? Of course I'm not curious."

Isaac spoke up. "Son? You've still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?"

The Doctor put the Stetson on his own head. "With a little sleight of hand."

* * *

After getting Rory and Isaac to play decoy so that the Doctor could sneak out of town unnoticed, that left Amy and Ember to stay with Jex in the Marshal's office. Ember had at first tried to go with the Time Lord, but the Doctor pointed out that the medicine she'd taken would take a little longer to fully sober her up.

"When this is all done, do you want us to take you home?" Amy asked Jex while they waited.

"Thank you, but I've already given everything I have to the Kahler. My skills, my energy, all that was good in me. But here, I could start afresh. I could remember myself and help people. That's all I ever wanted to do; end suffering."

Ember bit her lip hard to stop a snarky comment from slipping out.

Amy smiled kindly and picked up Isaac's coat, putting it over Jex's shoulders. "Here."

Jex nodded his thanks before he looked at the redhead. "You're a mother, aren't you?"

"How did you know?"

"There's kindness in your eyes. And sadness, but a ferocity too."

"Life's not exactly straight forward."

"It seldom is."

Amy nodded. "And what about you? Are you a father?"

"Yes. In a way, I suppose I am."

Ember couldn't hide the scoff this time. "Creating something with technology does not make you a father. And even if it did, it doesn't make you a good one."

Amy and Jex looked at her for a moment, but before either of them could comment, there was a loud sound from outside, sounding like a futuristic alarm. The two of them walked out of the building, leaving Ember in the Marshal's office.

"That's the alarm on my ship." Jex said.

"Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again?" Amy suggested.

"But that wasn't the plan. He's not following the plan."

"Welcome to my world."

As the alarm was abruptly cut off, Jex turned and went back into the office, running for where he'd seen a revolver earlier. Only to come up short when he found that it was no longer there.

A light tapping made him turn around to find Ember leaning against the desk, holding the gun by the barrel and tapping it on the table, the bullets scattered on the desk. The look she was giving him almost made him cower.

"I may still be a little tipsy right now, but I'm not stupid," the brunette said dryly as Amy came back into the room. "And I don't like it when people decide to pull a gun on my friends."

Amy looked at Jex. "You were going to point a gun at me?"

"Why would I do that?" Jex asked, trying to remain calm.

"Because the Doctor has just found out your dirty little secret," Ember explained. "And you were going to try to do a runner with Amy as a human shield to stop the Gunslinger from taking a shot. Go ahead, deny it, I dare you."

Jex looked away and spoke. "Isaac says he doesn't care about my past, but things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive, so..."

"You were going to take me as a hostage?" Amy asked.

"You or her. It's unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I'm with one of you. As far as I can tell, he's programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary."

"Oh, well, colour me reassured."

Ember saw movement at the door and raised her voice. "Come on in, Isaac, Rory. I'm assuming you just heard all of that."

The door opened and sure enough, it was Isaac and Rory, looking surprised at what they'd heard. "Doc? What are you doing?"

"I wasn't doing anything," Jex said quickly, pointing to Ember. "She just pointed a gun at me!"

"Sure, I'm holding it the wrong way round, but I'm pointing it at you," Ember shot back, lifting the weapon to show that she was doing exactly what she said. "Oh, and I took the bullets out of it as an added challenge because I'm that confident that I can reload it, aim and shoot you before you've even got out of the door. Give me a break."

"Ember said that the Doctor found his secret," Amy added. "That noise was his ship, some kind of alarm."

Rory looked at the brunette as she put the gun down on the desk. "What secret did the Doctor find?"

"That Jex here wasn't as good a doctor on his own planet as he's been here." Ember shrugged. "But he'll be back soon, so I'll let him explain."

Jex looked flustered as he tried to think of something quickly. "It was stupid of me, I realise that now. I just thought I'd put you all in enough danger. Perhaps if I left-"

"He's lying." The Doctor's voice cut him off, the man himself entering the room and walking right up to Jex, making the man back up. "Every word, every thing he says, it's. all. lies. This man is a murderer."

"I am a scientist." Jex protested.

"Sit down. Sit down!" The Doctor raised his voice when the man didn't obey the first time, and Jex immediately sat on the chair behind him. "Tell them what you are."

"What am I? A war hero."

Ember growled. "A war hero is someone who faces anything in order to protect the innocent. A war hero is someone who is willing to lay down their own life for what they believe in. You ran away when the monster you created came back to bite you on the ass!"

"Okay, somebody want to tell me what is going on?" Isaac asked, moving to stand beside Jex.

"The Gunslinger is a Cyborg." The Doctor replied.

"A what?"

"Half man, half machine. A weapon. Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they'd been selected for special training, then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry, and programmed them to kill. "

"Okay." Isaac looked at Jex. "Why? Why would you do that, Doc?"

The man shook his head. "We'd been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week. Do you want me to repent, to beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?"

"And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had found your advantage?" The Doctor asked bitterly. He moved away to where Ember had hopped up to sit on the desk, surprising her by putting his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder. The brunette could feel him trembling in repressed anger, so she put her arms around him and tried to offer as much comfort as she could while glaring at Jex from over his shoulder. She was pointedly ignoring the fact that the Doctor had nudged himself between her thighs so he could be close enough to put his arms around her waist.

"War is another world." Jex tried to defend himself, also trying to ignore those silver eyes that were making him uncomfortable. "You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did. To what any of us did."

"What happened then?" Rory asked. "How come you're here?"

"When the war ended we had the Cyborgs decommissioned, but one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it until just two of us were left. We fled, and our ships crashed here."

The Doctor drowned out the conversation, focusing instead on the brunette in his arms and lowering his voice so only she could hear him. "What do I do? What _should_ I do?"

"You know I can't just tell you," she murmured back, leaning back slightly and blushing at the sight of him stood between her thighs. It reminded her of when River had pinned him to the desk in Berlin, but she strangely didn't feel as uncomfortable as she'd expected to be: she blamed the alcohol. "Whichever way you go, there's going to be at least one person meeting their end. All you can do is try to protect them."

The Doctor looked at her in puzzlement, but before he could ask, Amy was trying to get his attention. "-Doctor, tell him."

"Hmm?" The Doctor had been distracted by Ember's answers and her attempts to comfort him, and thus hadn't heard most of the conversation. "Yes. I don't know. Whatever Amy said."

Ember chuckled. "You don't even know what she said. For all you know, she could have said that we all get naked and dance to scare the Gunslinger away!"

"Well, I doubt that would work, but it'd probably be fun." The Doctor muttered, surprising the brunette. He smirked at her face turning even more red as her imagination went along with the idea.

Jex watched them carefully before he spoke, breaking their moment, removing his glasses to clean them with a cloth. "Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror, almost. There's rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the gods my people weren't relying on you to save them."

"Now you've done it," Ember said as she felt the Doctor tense before letting him go as he turned and stormed up to the man.

"No." He said, yanking the man to his feet. "No, but these people are. Out! Out! Out!"

Ember followed them out of the door and through town, joined not only by Amy, Rory and Isaac but also most of the townspeople, until they got to the line of stones and wood, where the Doctor harshly shoved Jex over the line.

"Get over, and don't come back!" The Doctor shouted, swiftly grabbing a man's gun from his holster and pointing it at Jex as he tried to come back over the line.

Jex stopped and raised his hands. "You wouldn't..."

The Doctor pulled the hammer back on the gun. "I genuinely don't know."

"Doctor." Isaac said, stepping closer when he saw the man's hesitation. "Doctor..."

Amy quickly grabbed another gun and fired it into the air before pointing it at the Time Lord. "Let him come back, Doctor!"

The Doctor turned to look at her. "Or what? You won't shoot me, Amy."

"How do you know?" Amy challenged, pulling back the hammer of her gun. "Maybe I've changed. I mean, you've clearly been taking stupid lessons since I saw you last!"

The gun suddenly fired, thankfully hitting the ground, but still making everyone jump.

"I didn't mean to do that." She said, only for another shot to make everyone jump again.

Isaac raised his voice. "Everyone who isn't an American, drop your gun!"

The Doctor walked right up to Amy. "We can end this right now. We could save everyone right now."

"This is not how we roll, and you know it." Amy shot back. "What happened to you, Doctor? When did killing someone become an option?"

"Jex has to answer for his crimes."

"And what then? Are you going to hunt down everyone who's made a gun or a bullet or a bomb?"

"But they keep coming back, don't you see? Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today. No. Today, I honour the victims first. His, the Master's, the Dalek's, all the people who died because of _my_ mercy!"

Amy looked at him for a long moment before she spoke again. "You see, this is what happens when you travel alone for too long."

Ember blinked at that. How long has he been travelling alone? How long had it been since he'd seen _her_ last?

"Well, listen to me, Doctor." Amy continued. "We can't be like him. We have to be better than him."

"Amelia Pond." The Doctor sighed. "Fine, fine. We think of something else. But frankly, I'm betting on the Gunslinger."

He handed his gun back to the man he'd taken it from, turning to Jex, but a shimmer in the distance caught his eye. It was the Gunslinger, teleporting in short jumps to get closer to them.

"Jex, move over the line." He said, beckoning the man. "Now."

Jex heard and felt the presence behind him, and slowly turned around to face the Gunslinger.

_"Make peace with your gods."_ The cyborg said, his gun arm pointed right at the man's head.

"Kahler-Tek, isn't it?" Jex said, swallowing heavily. "I remember all your names, even now. I'll never hurt anyone again. I'm even helping people here."

The Gunslinger wasn't interested. _"Last chance. Make peace with your gods."_

Isaac, who'd stepped forward cautiously, was about to dash in to shove Jex away when someone else beat him to it; Ember, who used her right hand to push Jex to the side and her left thrown up to raise flames to protect them.

The Gunslinger, surprised not only by the woman jumping in but the fire too, moved his weapon just as it fired, hitting Isaac in the right shoulder. It wasn't a fatal blow, but it was serious as the Marshal fell to the floor.

The Doctor immediately ran over to the fallen man. "Isaac! Isaac. Isaac! It's okay, it's okay. We can get you to Jex's surgery. He can save you."

"I'm fine," The man grunted, pressing his hand to the wound and wincing. "But you gotta listen to me. You've got to stay. You've got to look after everyone."

"It won't come to that, Isaac."

"Protect Jex. Protect my town. I can't do it now." He said, using his free hand to put something into the Doctor's own. "You're both good men. You just forget it sometimes."

A couple of people ran forward and helped to pick up the man and take him away. The Doctor stood, looking at the Marshal badge that Isaac had given him. He pinned it to his lapel and turned to face the stunned onlookers. "Take Jex to his cell. If anything happens to him, you'll have me to answer to."

As a couple more people came to escort Jex away, followed by the rest of the townsfolk, the Doctor turned to face the Gunslinger, who couldn't get a clear shot thanks to the flames still burning like a wall. Ember, who's eyes were completely silver, allowed the flickering flames to lower slightly so the Doctor could talk. "This has gone on long enough."

_"You are right."_ The Gunslinger said, finally looking away from the brunette who'd saved two men by making fire appear out of nowhere. _"You've got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me or I'll kill you all."_

With that, he vanished, teleporting away. The Doctor was about to turn when he noticed something; the ground under and around the flames had cracks in it where there weren't any before, and if one looked close enough they could see dust and specks of dirt flying out of the cracks, as though something was exhaling out of them.

That made the Doctor spin round to face Ember, seeing that she was shaking and a fine sheen of sweat covered her forehead. He immediately ran over and pulled her to him, murmuring in her ear. "It's okay. You can let go. It's safe now..."

"... let go...?" Ember murmured, seemingly in a trance. "But... have to protect..."

"Yes, let go. You've protected them. Isaac was going to die, wasn't he?" The Doctor felt her nod against him. "You saved him. It's ok. You can let go now."

A moment passed, and then Ember lowered her arm, allowing the flames to die out. She lost her balance, though the Doctor easily helped her stay on her feet, and looked very out of it.

Amy and Rory were the only ones left, the latter looking concerned for Ember while the former spoke. "Oh, my god. You're the Marshal."

"Yeah." The Doctor nodded. "And Ember's the Deputy."

"Is she alright?" Rory asked, moving over to check Ember's pulse. "I thought she can control fire easily?"

"She can. It was controlling earth that drained her," the Doctor said, looking at something. "I think this is the first time she's done it."

Amy and Rory followed his gaze, to find something that surprised them: along the line where Ember had made the flames appear, there was now a row of jagged rocks on the outside of the line. The stones varied in size, from as small as a tennis ball to the size of an adult bike wheel, and they hadn't been seen before because they'd been engulfed by the flames. The ground around the rocks was cracked, like the very earth had just sprouted teeth at her command.

"Whoa." Amy said.

The Doctor nodded as he shifted his hold on Ember so he could pick her up bridal style, turning to carry her towards the town. "Yeah. And we've already seen what she can do when she _can_ control it fully."

Ember barely heard any of it, she was suddenly so tired, resting her head on the Doctor's shoulder. "... Doctor...the ground... Wha...?"

"Hush, now," He soothed, pressing a kiss to her temple. She didn't notice. "Just rest. You did good."

Ember nodded, letting herself drift off...

* * *

_She was disappointed. That was a new feeling for her._

_She'd watched them, herself unseen, but they were violent. They were careless. They were hurtful._

_But why? There was so much beauty, but they were showing no concern for destroying things that were so precious..._

_"Because they are weak."_

_She didn't need to turn to look. She never had to: she always knew who was speaking. "Weak?"_

_"Yes. They, as the term goes, cannot see the bigger picture. They're too caught up in their own tiny, meaningless lives."_

_"Why? Can't they see what they're doing? They're causing pain. Why do they do this?"_

_"You shouldn't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to."_

_The speaker left her presence, and she continued to watch. But questions kept coming to mind, all of them centered around one word..._

_Why?_

* * *

Ember let out a soft moan as she woke to the sound of her watch beeping, shifting slightly and nearly falling off the chair she'd been sitting in. She opened her eyes to find herself back in the Marshal's office. The Doctor was in the chair next to hers, and Amy and Rory were on the other side of the desk. Jex was back in his cell.

The Doctor smiled as he saw that she was awake, and she quickly noticed that his tweed jacket was missing. A quick look told her that he'd put it over her to keep her warm. "Hello, Sleeping Beauty."

"Talking to yourself again," Ember replied as she rubbed her eyes, finding herself much more level headed now that the medicine she'd taken had sobered her up. She rummaged in her jacket pocket for her medication and noticed that it was also dark outside. "How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours."

Nodding, Ember shifted and sat up fully, holding the Doctor's jacket out to him. He in turn traded it for a glass of water. "Thanks." She took her medication and let him put his jacket on before she spoke again. "Doctor, about earlier... when I used fire to keep the Gunslinger away... something, I dunno, clicked in my head..."

"Yes. I think you've gained another new power."

"It's happened before... just before I started being able to control water, against the Racnoss. What is it?"

The Doctor sighed, moving back to sit on the chair next to her and taking her hands in his. "These powers... if you awakened to them all at once, you wouldn't be able to cope. So you're doing it bit by bit, so you can adjust to the new changes before the next one comes."

"But it hasn't even been that long since I started being able to control water." Ember said, shaking her head. "What can I do now?"

"You can control all the elements. You're more attuned to fire for some reason, which is why that came first. Then the water. Now you've just manipulated earth; made rocks come out of the ground where you made the fire. That's what made you pass out."

Ember closed her eyes and nodded. "So there's only one left; wind. That's the fourth element, right?"

The Doctor nodded as well. "Yes, wind should be next. But, Ember... there aren't only four elements. Those four are just the primary elements, like how there are three primary colours. There are more elements that you can control, in time."

He paused, looking at her carefully. "I'd like to try something, if I may."

Ember tilted her head. "Really? The last time you did that, I booted you out of my head."

The Doctor shook his head, shifting in his seat to face her better and take the glass of water from her and put it on the desk. He then took both her hands. "Oh, I'm not going to try to look into your mind. It's kind of like a meditation technique. I need you to close your eyes for me."

"Okay." The brunette complied.

"Right, now take slow, deep breaths. In... and out..." the Doctor demonstrated to help her get into a rhythm. "Now, concentrate, and reach out."

Ember tilted her head again. "Reach out?"

"Yes. It's sounds harder than it is, but you can do it. It's like when we show each other that we're Time Lords: Reach out and feel around you."

She took another breath and did what he asked, trying to feel around her. She could sense him, right there in front of her, and if she tried, she could also 'feel' Amy and Rory and even Jex.

"That's it," The Doctor said softly. "Now, go a little further. Can you feel it? The earth underneath you, the water in that glass? Try to feel them, Ember..."

That puzzled her, but when she focused, she was surprised that he was right: she could feel the very the earth beneath them, the water in the glass that she knew was stationary on the table.

Unbeknownst to her, the water was not still. It began to shake and ripple like there was a tremor. Amy and Rory watched silently while Jex did so with increasing surprise and curiousity.

Ember's brow furrowed as she concentrated on what she could now feel. The earth beneath them was not stantionary; it was in constant movement, as though she could feel the planet itself turning like she knew it was. She wasn't so much sensing the presence of the humans and Jex directly; it was more like she was sensing them through the ground that they were standing on...

The rippling water got more active, now splashing against the sides of the glass like it was a mini ocean in a storm.

"Doctor..." Amy called. She was beginning to look concerned.

The Doctor squeezed Ember's hands. "Easy, Ember. Going too far might overwhelm you. Come back now..."

Ember found herself having difficulty letting go. It felt so... natural, to be able to feel the earth and the water like they were a part of her. She found herself trying to feel for any fires that were nearby, wondering if that would feel the same as well.

"Ember...?"

What about the wind? The Wild West was known for their breezes that made tumbleweeds roll across the ground. Could she feel that, too, if she tried?

Suddenly, the force of the water splashing the sides of the glass made it tip over, landing on its side and making the water spill over the edge of the table and splatter their shoes. The brunette flinched and let out a breath as her eyes snapped open, her concentration broken.

The Doctor squeezed her hands again, giving her a smile when he was sure she was coherent. "Well, I think that was very good for a first session."

Ember looked at him, opening her mouth to speak when someone knocked on the door. A moment later, a man opened it and looked at them. He was dressed in black, telling them that he was preacher.

"Marshal." He said, nodding to them. "Ma'ams. Fella. You need to come outside."

"Why, what's wrong?" The Doctor asked.

"Just come outside. And you should put that on." He gestured to the gun belt that was hanging on a post.

Puzzled, the Doctor put on the belt before going to the door, followed by Amy, Rory and Ember. It was dark outside, but still lit enough thanks to the electrics to see that the townsfolk had gathered, though they seemed to be devided into two groups.

The Doctor looked at them, leaving Ember standing behind him holding one of the wooden beams that lined the building. "What's going on?"

A young man stepped forward from one of the groups. "He in there? Leave the keys and take a walk. By the time you get back, this'll all be done."

"I promised Isaac I'd protect him."

"Protecting him got Isaac nearly dead. Tomorrow, it's going to be us all, dead."

"We thought Isaac was right to fight, but it's different now. We've got to say, all right we lost, and give that thing what it wants." Another man said from the same group.

A woman from the other group shook her head. "What it wants is to kill our friend!"

The young man shook his head as well. "We don't got any ill feeling towards the Doc. We just thinking about our families. Hand him over and we all safe again."

"You know I can't do that." The Doctor said.

"Then we got us a problem." He moved his jacket aside to reveal a revolver strapped around his waist.

The Doctor cooed the action. "Please don't do this."

The young man moved his hand over the holster of his gun. "Why? Reckon you're quicker than me?"

"Almost certainly not, but this? Lynch mobs? A town turning against itself? This is everything Isaac didn't want." The Doctor raised a brow as the young man drew his gun and cocked it. "How old are you?"

"Nearly nineteen."

The Doctor was slowly walking forward, cautious but confident. "That's eighteen, then. Too young to have fought in the war, so I'm guessing you've never shot anyone before, have you?"

The young man pulled back the hammer on the gun. "First time for everything."

Ember's grip of the wooden beam tightened, and Rory glanced at her in worry when he heard the wood creaking under the pressure. It was tough the tell in the poor light, so he might be imagining the splinters appearing in the wood, but he knew that the brunette was a moment away from jumping in. And he knew she would; he'd seen what she was willing to do for the Time Lord.

"But that's how all this started." The Doctor continued, seemingly not aware of Ember's turmoil behind him. "Jex turned someone into a weapon. Now that same story's going to make you a killer, too. Don't you see? Violence doesn't end violence, it extends it, and I don't think you want to do this. I don't think you want to become that man."

The young man hesitated. "There's kids here."

"I know, who I can save if you'll let me."

"He really worth the risk?"

"Don't know. But you are."

Another moment passed, and the young man looked past the Doctor at Ember, surprising the brunette by addressing her. "And you? You made that fire and those rocks appear at the edge of town. You gonna save us?"

"Yes." She replied. "What Jex did was wrong, but that doesn't mean you should get his blood on your hands. He'll get his comeuppance, but in the meantime, we won't let another person here die. You just need to give us a chance."

The young man hesitated for a moment more before he lowered his gun and walked away. The two groups dispersed moments after, returning to their homes.

"Frightened people." The Doctor murmured as he stepped back. "Give me a Dalek any day." He turned to go back inside, pausing to look at Ember. "He'll get his comeuppance?"

"He has to face his demons sometime." She replied. "By the way, how is Issac?"

"He's resting in their infirmary. Just a flesh wound that'll heal, thanks to you."

Ember nodded as she turned and went inside. The Doctor followed, and he was just taking off the gun belt when he noticed another man had walked in. Ember recognised him as the undertaker who'd taken the Doctor's measurements earlier.

"Fresh coffee, Marshal." He said. "For what it's worth, I know you're going to save us. Isaac made you Marshal for a reason, and if you're good enough for him, you're good enough for me. Reckon you should know that."

"Thank you." The Doctor said, only to blink when the man attempted to measure him again. "Oi, get out of it!"

Jex waited until the man left before he spoke. "Let me guess. The good folk of Mercy wanted me to take a little stroll into the desert. You could turn a blind eye. No one would blame you. You'd be a hero."

The Doctor met his gaze evenly. "But I can't, can I? Because then Isaac's wish would mean nothing. Just another casualty in your endless bloody war. Do you want me to hand you over? Is that what you want? Do you even know?"

"You think I'm unaffected by what I did? That I don't hear them screaming every time I close my eyes? It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn't it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who's dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I'm both bewilders you."

"Oh, I know exactly what you are, and I see this reformation for what it really is." The Doctor walked up to the cell. "You committed an atrocity and chose this as your punishment. Don't get me wrong, good choice. Civilised hours, lots of adulation, nice weather, but... but justice doesn't work like that. You don't get to decide when and how your debt is paid."

Jex saw Ember looking at him and turned his own eyes away. After what he'd seen in their 'meditation' he wasn't sure that he wanted to see her bad side. "In my culture, we believe that when you die, your spirit has to climb a mountain carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift. The monsters I created, the people they killed. Isaac, he is my friend. And it was almost at the cost of his soul in my arms, too. Can you see now why I fear death? You want to hand me over. There's no shame in that. But you won't. We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past. Yours is your morality."

"We all carry our prisons with us." The Doctor scoffed. "Ha!"

* * *

Hours later, dawn was breaking. The Doctor, Amy and Rory had gone out to talk to the townsfolk about their plan to keep the Gunslinger busy while Jex would escape, leaving Ember in the Marshal's office with Jex.

"You protected me from the Gunslinger," Jex finally spoke, making Ember turn from where she'd been looking out of the window. "You even protected Isaac. But I can see it clearly in your eyes that you want me to be held accountable for what I've done. So why did you not just let him take me?"

"Because doing that means to let him kill you." She replied after a moment. "And he has enough blood on his hands, thanks to you. I didn't do it for your sake: I did it for his." She turned to fully face him. "Since we're playing twenty questions, I've got one for you. You knew he was going to find you, so why did you come here, to this town, to this planet?"

Jex shrugged. "I wasn't lying when I said that my ship crashed. I had hoped that I'd have been dead and gone by the time he caught up to me."

"You know that no matter where you go, he's going to follow. You turned him into a killing machine. He wants to make sure you don't do it to someone else. After all, he did trust you at the beginning, right?"

"... yes."

Ember crossed her arms. "You said that your people believe that you must face those you've wronged when you die. That's why he wants to kill you: not to give vengeance to those you've wronged, but so you could face them. He hasn't killed anyone here because they have no part of your people's war. But who knows how long that will last. He almost killed Isaac, after all."

Jex looked thoughtful. "Then perhaps I should oblige him. Let him kill me."

"That's one way, but then the Gunslinger will have to face you when he finally dies."

"Unless..." Jex looked at her as an idea came to mind. "I could... I mean, my ship can... I can stop it all..."

Ember shrugged. "Whatever you decide, be certain of it. It'll be just as bad if you have doubts."

She got up and left the room, allowing him to think on what to do now.

* * *

It was getting close to noon, and the Doctor was waiting in the middle of the town. The townsfolk were hiding in wait. Amy was with Jex in the Marshal's office, Rory was with several men who had the same mark as Jex's painted onto their faces. Ember was in the chapel, ready to protect the women and children who were hiding there. There were a few men in the chapel as well, including the preacher, the undertaker and Issac, who had his right arm in a sling.

Just as the clock on the nearby bank struck 12, the whooshing sound of the Gunslinger's teleport was heard, getting closer and louder. Ember peeked out of one of the windows to watch as the cyborg faced the Doctor in the centre. Just as the Gunslinger raised his weapon, the Doctor did the same with his Sonic, making windows break and disrupting the cyborg's systems so that he could run away. Several shots were fired from the cyborg's weapon, one of them taking out the clock above the bank.

Ember watched as the Gunslinger attempted to target several of the people by the mark on their faces until he realised that it was a trick, and then he began to pass the chapel. Everyone inside stayed quiet, but then a little girl knocked over some hymnals, the noise getting the Gunslinger's attention. He turned and blasted the doors open, stepping inside as the people began screaming.

Jumping over the rubble, Ember ran over and pulled the little girl to her, putting herself in the way as the cyborg raised his weapon-arm. "You gonna shoot innocent children? Isn't it why you're after Jex; to seek justice for all the children he made you kill before?"

The Gunslinger hesitated, looking between the little girl and the brunette shielding her, and then he turned and stomped away. Ember made sure the girl had gone back to her mother before she gave chase, following the cyborg as he soon found the Doctor hiding around the corner of a building, now sporting the same mark Jex had.

_"Where is he?"_ He demanded, pointing his weapon.

The Doctor shook his head. "He's gone."

_"Where? Answer me!"_

"Away from here. Look up. Any second now you'll see the vapour trail of his ship. This is their home, not the backdrop for your revenge. Look up, go after him, take this battle away from-"

_"Kahler-Tek."_ Jex's voice suddenly echoed from somewhere._"Kahler-Tek."_

_"Jex. Coward."_ The Gunslinger looked around. _"Where are you?"_

_"I'm in my ship."_

"What are you doing?" The Doctor called now that he knew he'd be heard. "Just go!"

_"Where are you from? Where on Kahler?"_

"Now? You're asking him this now?"

_"Gabrian."_ The Gunslinger answered the question.

_"I know it. It's beautiful there. When this is over, will you go back?"_

_"How can I? I am a monster now."_

_"...So am I."_

The Doctor shook his head in frustration. "Just go! Finish this!"

_"I'll find you."_ The Gunslinger threatened. _"If I have to tear this universe apart, I will find you."_

_"I don't doubt that. You'll chase me to another planet and another race will be caught in the cross-fire."_

_"Then face me! Face me!"_

_"No. You've killed enough. I'm ending the war for you, too."_

A computerised, female voice spoke words that filled them with dread. _"Count down to self-destruct r__esumed."_

"What's going on?" The Doctor asked.

_"Ten..."_

"The countdown... What's going on? Jex!"

_"Thank you, Doctor. And you, Ember. You were right. I have to face the souls of those I've wronged."_

_"Five..."_

_"Perhaps they will be kind."_

_"Three, two, one, zero."_

There was a massive explosion in the distance, and soon after, a trail of black smoke rose up.

The Gunslinger bowed his head. _"He behaved with honour at the end. Maybe more than me."_

"We could take you back to your world." The Doctor said, following the cyborg as he began to walk away. "You could help with the reconstruction."

_"I will walk into the desert and self-destruct. I'm a creature of war. I have no role to play during peace."_

"Why not?" Ember spoke up, making the cyborg turn to face her. "You came to this town to hunt down a murderer, yet you didn't harm a single person here. They need someone to protect them. Someone like you."

The Gunslinger looked at her for a long moment, surprised by the suggestion, but then he saw movement behind her and looked up, to see the women and children had started coming out of the chapel. The sight of them made his decision easier.

* * *

A short time later, the Doctor had moved the Tardis to stand in the centre of the town. And the travelers were getting ready to go: the town was now protected by the Gunslinger.

Issac hugged Ember as best he could with his arm still in the sling. "Thank you, and the Doctor. You protected my town."

"I'm sorry about Jex," the brunette replied as she let him go, stepping back.

"He did what he thought was right. He ended his war."

Ember nodded, looking out at the town one last time as the Doctor, Amy and Rory came out of the saloon.

"Okay, so, our next trip." The Doctor said. "Oh! You know all the monkeys and dogs they sent into space in the fifties and sixties? You will never guess what really happened to them..."

Amy smiled, but shook her head. "Could we leave it a while? Our friends are going to start noticing that we're aging faster than them."

"Another time? No worry."

As Amy and Rory stepped into the Tardis, the Doctor turned to face the young man they'd talked to earlier. The two of them did a mock quick draw, which the Doctor won, and then he opened the door for Ember before going into the Tardis himself, setting them off and away from the town called Mercy.

* * *

Okay, and there you have it! Ember's next milestone! She's started to manipulate earth. There was a slight clue about it in the chapter before this one: here's a recap:

_-Only it wasn't just that she'd heard it. Ember was surprised when she felt this sudden... awareness that the ground was shaking, like a sixth sense telling her that something bad was happening on a level she wasn't aware of.-_

_-Ember ran forward as the concrete cracked and split open around them. She wasn't aware of it, but she moved like she knew where the next crack was going to appear, allowing the Doctor and Margaret to follow on the revealed safe path.-_

Not only that, but she's also learned that there are more than four elements. What other events are there? How does she control them in future? Will the meditation help in future? You'll find out if you stick around!

Next Time: Ember has to deal with another classic murder mystery, but it's never as simple as it sounds, is it? Stay tuned!


	14. Chapter 14: Mummy on the Orient Express

This one was a bit difficult to write, so I hope it's okay.

Here's a thing: have you ever posted something and then had second thoughts about it? I'm asking because I'm in that dilemma: one of the chapters from part one of the saga keeps coming back to me with the idea of 'maybe I should have had that one scene go different instead of what I've already done?' I could go back and modify the scene, but it does get mentioned several times in the later chapters, so I'd have to modify several of them.

If I do end up changing it, I'll let you guys know so you can go back and have a look. For now, though, enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 14: Mummy on the Orient Express

* * *

Ember ended up spending a week with the Doctor, Amy and Rory. She had a couple more 'meditation sessions' in which the Doctor had shown her how to feel the elements she was currently able to control, though they found out quickly that it was difficult to do it in the Tardis since the inside was its own dimension. It was much easier to do it in a natural environment, like a planet.

She had asked about trying to trigger her powers over wind, but the Doctor had simply smiled and said "It isn't time yet. It'll come to you when you're ready."

When she jumped next and got her bearings, she found herself on what looked like a train car in the 1920s. It was only when she looked out of the window that she realised that it was a reproduction: the train was in space.

Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed her sudden entrance; not even the guard who was standing at the far end of the carriage. Ember looked around: there were comfortable chairs down the side of the carriage, a band playing a slow jazz version of a Queen song, and several guests chatting and drinking wine from delicate flutes. Waiters and maids flittered about making sure everyone was comfortable and happy.

The door opened behind her, making her jump, before she heard the familiar voice of Clara. "Of course it is."

Her and the Doctor were dressed to suit the surroundings; the Doctor wearing a black suit and a loose bow tie with long ends, reminiscent of the western style. Clara was dressed in a dark flapper dress with glittering beads on it, elbow length gloves and her hair was cut to jaw length and bobbed.

"Hi, guys!" Ember said, getting their attention.

Clara smiled. "Heya. Did you want to go change? I saw lots of outfits that'll fit the theme."

Ember shook her head. "No way. I've been in one of those flapper dresses before. Don't want to do it again." She looked at the Doctor, finding him standing to the side trying not to look nervous, but failing miserably. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," He said just a little too quickly, but he moved to hug her before she could could question him. "I'm glad you're here."

Judging from his stiff posture and Clara's suddenly sheepish look, Ember figured that something had happened. "Ok. I'd ask where you've just come from, but instead, I'll just ask where we are now."

The Doctor seemed to gladly latch on to her unspoken offer, turning to gesture to the carriage. "Completely faithful recreation of the original Orient Express. Except slightly bigger. And in space. Oh, and the rails are actually hyperspace ribbons. But in every other respect, identical. Painstaking attention to detail..." A man with a bald head, bushy red beard and a steampunk style eyepatch barged past them, pushing between the Doctor and Ember rather rudely. "Most of the time."

Ember rubbed her elbow where she'd caught it against the doorframe after the man had shoved her. "Yeah, seems manners didn't get recreated. Lovely."

The Doctor quickly scanned her arm with his Sonic, confirming that it woukd do nothing more than bruise, before he looked at Clara and frowned. "You're doing it again."

Clara blinked. "Doing what?"

"The smile."

"Yeah, I'm smiling."

"It's the sad smile." The Doctor pointed out. "It's a smile but you're sad. It's confusing. It's like two emotions at once. It's like you're malfunctioning."

"Sorry." Clara said, looking away.

The Doctor shifted again, obviously not liking the tension. "I just thought this would be a good one to-"

"To end it. Yeah. It is. It's a good choice. A good one to end on."

"Yeah?"

"Mmm hmm."

"Shall we?" The Doctor offered each of the ladies and arm, which was accepted on both sides.

"Mmm hmm."

They made their way to one of the small, tall tables that were to the side, where the Doctor and Ember stood on one side while Clara took the other. Ember felt the Doctor take her hand under the table a squeeze it, so she returned the gesture. A butler came over with flutes of champagne on a tray, which were accepted.

_"Ladies and gentlemen." _A computerised male voice said. It sounded like the kind of voice you'd hear from James Bond's car._ "If you would be good enough to look from the windows on the right of the train, you'll be able to see the soaring majesty of the Magellan black hole."_

The Doctor eagerly looked out of the window, seeing the swirls of gas and stars and colours outside. "Oh, I remember when this was all planets as far as the eye could see. All gone now. Gobbled up by that beast." He looked at Clara to see her reaction, only to frown when she didn't seem to be impressed. "And there's that smile again. I don't even know how you do that."

Clara couldn't help a small laugh before she spoke. "I really thought I hated you, you know?"

"Well, thank God you kept that to yourself." The Doctor looked out of the window again. "There was this planet, Obsidian. The planet of perpetual darkness-"

"I did." Clara said, making him pause. "I did hate you. In fact, I hated you for weeks."

"Good, fine. Well, I'm glad that we cleared that up. There was also a planet that was made completely of shrubs..."

"I went to a concert once. Can't remember who it was. But do you know what the singer said?"

The Doctor gave her a look. "Frankly, that would be an absolutely astonishing guess if I did know."

"She said, 'hatred is too strong an emotion to waste on someone that you don't like.'"

"Were people really confused? Cos I'm confused. Did everybody leave?"

"Shush. Shut up." Clara said with another laugh before turning serious again. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, I don't hate you. I could never hate you. But I can't do this any more. Not the way you do it."

There was a long pause as they both thought about it. Ember squeezed the Doctor's hand in sympathy.

"...Can I talk about the planets now?" The Doctor asked.

Clara nodded, smiling. "Yes. Go."

"Thedion Four. Constant acid rain. Had a lovely picnic there once, wearing a gas mask."

"That's a lie."

The trio turned to see a young woman with blonde curls wearing a beige flapper dress. Clara spoke first. "I'm sorry?"

"That's a lie, what you said." The woman repeated, looking at the Doctor. "Thedion Four was destroyed thousands of years ago, so you couldn't have been there."

A man in uniform appeared, going right up to the woman and gently taking her arm. The Doctor immediately saw the medals and the gun in a holster at his side, his hand tightening instinctively around Ember's.

"Miss Pitt, are you sure you wouldn't rather rest in your room?" The man in uniform asked.

The woman shook her head. "That man's a liar."

"Perhaps you'd allow Mister Carlyle here to escort you back." The man suggested as another uniformed man approached. This one didn't have medals on his coat.

The other guard nodded, gently leading the obviously shaken girl away. "It'll be all right, miss. Just come with me..."

The first man turned to the trio still seated. "Sorry about that. I suppose it's understandable in the circumstances. I don't believe we've been introduced. Captain Quell."

"I'm Clara. This is Ember, and that's the Doctor."

"Ah, another one."

"Sorry? Another what?"

"Well, we've got doctors and professors coming out of our ears on this trip." Quell explained. "So, what are you a doctor of?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Now, there's a question that's never asked often enough. Let's say intestinal parasites."

That made the man look at him oddly. "I'm beginning to think Miss Pitt was right about you."

"What's wrong with her?" Clara asked, steering the topic away from the Doctor. "Did something happen?"

"You mean you really don't know?" Quell said, surprised.

After a brief discussion about the recent happenings, the trio made their way into the corridor for a little more privacy.

"There's a body _and_ there's a mummy." Clara said once they were alone, looking at the Doctor exasperatedly. "I mean, can you not just get on a train? Did a wizard put a curse on you about mini-breaks?"

The Doctor shrugged. "It might be nothing. Old ladies die all the time. It's practically their job description."

"And the monster?"

"Well, seen by no one except her, which suggests that it wasn't there. A dying brain, lack of oxygen, hallucinations. Anyway, people do just die sometimes. She was over a hundred years old."

Ember rolled her eyes. "You're not in a position to take."

"Says the two thousand year old man." Clara agreed.

"Clara, you actually sound as if you want this to _be_ a thing." The Doctor challenged. "Do you?"

"No." Clara said, but then hesitated. "No, look, fine. You know, if you think that there is nothing to worry about, then that is fine by me."

"Are you sure?"

"Ah, yes, I'm sure."

"To our last hurrah."

"Our last, yeah. I mean, it's not like I'm never going to see you again."

The Doctor paused. "Isn't it?"

"Is it?"

"I thought that's what you wanted."

"No, I mean, you're going to come round for dinner or something, aren't you?" Clara asked. "Do you, do you do that? Do you come round to people's houses for dinner?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I do that?"

"I don't know. I thought you might find it boring."

"Is it boring?"

"No." Clara shook her head again, raising her flute. "To the last hurrah."

"...The last hurrah."

Ember clinked her glass with theirs, trying to hide the smirk on her face.

* * *

A short while later, the trio parted ways. Clara had gotten a sleeping compartment for herself while the Doctor and Ember shared another. The brunette had suggested finding a third one for her, but the Doctor insisted that she would be fine with him. She only accepted it because she knew they wouldn't be in there for long.

So there they were: the Doctor laying on one bunk while Ember was sat cross-legged on hers. She had her eyes closed, but she could hear the Doctor twiddling his fingers as he mumbled to himself.

"It's nothing. Nothing. Definitely. Sure. Ninety nine percent sure." He was saying, seemingly arguing with himself. "Really? Ninety nine percent? That's quite high. Is that the figure you're sticking with? Okay, okay. Seventy five. Well, that's jumped quite a bit. You've just lost twenty four percent."

Ember smirked, but didn't open her eyes.

"Because you know what this sounds like, don't you? No, do tell me. A mummy that only the victim can see. I was being rhetorical. I know exactly what this sounds like." The Doctor finally sat up and looked her way, noticing her posture. "Are you meditating?"

"Yeah. You just taught me. I was in a town called Mercy before I came here." Ember said. "I'm trying to sense the elements I can control so far, but it's hard this time."

The Doctor tilted his head, though she didn't see it. "That's because we're on a train travelling through space on hyperspace ribbons. The elements you can control so far aren't very strong here because there are other elements at work."

"Other elements? Like what?"

"Well, what elements have you awakened to so far?"

Ember finally gave up, opening her eyes and looking up at him. "I've controlled fire, water and for the first time, earth. I know wind is probably next. But you told me that those are the Primary Elements. What are the others?"

"Ah, that's spoilers. But you'll know them when you get to them." The Doctor stood and put on his jacket. "Alright, I'll bite. Let's see if there really is a mummy on board."

Ember stood as well, following him out into the corridor. The Doctor did stop at the door to Clara's, hesitated, and then carried on. The brunette smirked knowingly.

"So we're going to the engineer's carriage?" She asked.

The Doctor nodded, ignoring anyone who he walked past. "We're going to the engineer's carriage."

They ended up getting to the engineer's carriage, though it looked slightly more modern. There were screens above a workbench, blue prints on a draughtiness table, and racks of tools lining the walls. The Doctor was quick to see a piece of equipment bubbling away, the display indicating that it was powering up. It was wrapped in plastic, though the Doctor pulled that off without a thought so he could scan the device with his Sonic.

"Beautiful bit of kit, isn't it, sir?" A male voice made them jump, turning to find the engineer standing to the side. He wore overalls and a cap, and he was holding a heavy-looking piece of metal, like he was ready to defend himself. "The Excelsior Life Extender. It's like driving around in a portable hospital."

"Yes, well, it didn't do Mrs Pitt much good, did it?" The Doctor replied, putting himself between the engineer and Ember. The brunette found it a mut point, seeing as she could probably set the man on fire, even if she didn't know that he was safe.

"Got me there, sir. Certainly got me there." The engineer shrugged. "Maybe it malfunctioned?"

"Oh, I don't think so." The Doctor said. "The records show that the machine did everything it could to keep her alive."

"Yeah. And almost drained the battery doing it."

"What do you know?"

"Well, I know that when I find a man fiddling with a chair that someone died in, it's best to play my cards close to my chest."

The Doctor raised a brow. "Really? Well, I know that when I find a man loitering near a chair that someone died in, I do just the same."

The engineer smiled. "Perkins. Chief Engineer."

"The Doctor. Nosey Parker. And this is Ember. Special woman."

"Pleased to meet you, Doctor, Ember." Perkins chuckled as he shook hands with the Doctor and tipped his hat to the brunette. "Course, there's a rumour that someone or some_thing_ else might be responsible."

That made the Doctor glance at Ember, who nodded. "Here's a hint. Every living person is on this train for a reason. None of it was a coincidence."

* * *

The Doctor and Ember made their way to one of the carriages that was set up as a lounge, where they immediately approached a man with a thin moustache who was reading a book.

"What's the most interesting thing about the Foretold?" The Doctor asked, pointing at the man.

The man blinked, thrown off by the interruption. "I'm terribly sorry, I don't believe we've met."

"You know. The Foretold." The Doctor urged. "Mythical mummy. Legend has it that if you see it, you're a dead man."

"Yes, I know what it is. You see, I happen to be-"

"Emil Moorhouse, professor of alien mythology. I'm the Doctor. This is Ember. Pleased to meet you." The Doctor pulled Ember with him as he sat on the chair opposite the confused man, ignoring the squeak that came out of the brunette when she ended up on his lap. "So, the most interesting thing about the Foretold. Go."

"Ah, well, it would have to be the time limit given before it kills you." Moorhouse said after a moment of staring at them. "I can't think of another myth where it's so specific. How does it go? Um... 'The number of evil twice over. They that bear the Foretold's stare have sixty six seconds to live.'"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, no, no. Nice try. Very atmospheric. But that's not it. Try again."

That made the man look at him. "A cynical man might say that you were trying to pump me for information."

"The myth of the Foretold first appeared over five thousand years ago. In some stories, there is a riddle or secret word that is supposed to make it stop. Some characters try to bargain with it, offer riches, confess sins. All to no avail." The Doctor pulled out what looked like a cigarette case, but it was revealed to be holding nothing more than jelly babies. He offered one to the professor.

"Well, you certainly know a little mythology."

"I know a lot. Because, from time to time, it turns out to be true."

The lights flickered for a brief second. Ember glanced up at them, taking the Doctor's hand and squeezing it twice to make him aware. At the same time, she felt a wave of nausea go over her, as though she was suddenly having reflux.

Though the Doctor showed no outward sign that he noticed, he did return the squeeze to silently tell her that he did.

"But that's the great appeal, isn't it?" Moorhouse said, oblivious to the exchange. "Earth legends are such dry, dusty affairs, and always fiction. But up here, in the stars, anything's possible. That's why I chose this field, to be honest. Hoping one day I might meet a real monster."

The Doctor nodded as the professor ate the jelly baby. He offered one to Ember, but she shook her head. "Isn't that everyone's dream? But you still haven't answered my riddle. What's the most interesting thing about the Foretold?"

"Well, you can't run from it, that's for sure. There are accounts of people trying, but it never works. No matter how far you run, it's always right there behind you."

"Nope. Even colder."

Ember blinked, as the feeling of nausea was gone as suddenly as it had appeared.

"All right, I give up." Moorhouse said. "You tell me."

"Mrs Pitt, the old woman who died."

Moorhouse blinked, puzzled. "She died of old age. Nothing supernatural."

"No. That's my answer."

"Her death?"

"No. The fact that you were here to witness it." The Doctor noticed a commotion was building up at the end of the carriage. He let Ember stand before raising as well. "Excuse us, Professor."

The duo made their way out of the carriage, searching for Quell. It wasn't long before they found him, though it was not before they'd heard of a second person dying.

**"**I think we need to talk." The Doctor said.

"This matter does not concern the passengers..." Quell began.

"We're not passengers. We're your worst nightmare." The Doctor flashed him the psychic paper.

Quell frowned. "Mystery shoppers. Oh, great."

"Really? That's your worst...?" The Doctor said. "Okay, I'm a mystery shopper. I could do with an extra pillow and I'm very disappointed with your breakfast bar and... all of the dying."

"Maybe we should talk about this in private." Ember suggested.

Quell nodded, leading them through another carriage and into an office. Ember was quick to notice the certificate with Quell's name on it in a frame on the wall.

"This is not exactly within your job description." Quell said as he grabbed three glasses and a bottle of brandy.

"Come on, Captain." The Doctor shook his head. "Where would we all be if we all followed our job descriptions, hmm? Good question. Glad you asked. In your case, you'd be doing something instead of climbing inside a bottle."

"I have followed the procedure for accidental death to the letter."

"Yes, I'm sure you have. And I'm sure you do just enough of your job to avoid complaints."

Quell frowned. "You don't know anything about me."

"Wounded in battle, honourable discharge. And this is just a guess, but I think you've had the fight knocked out of you. You expected this to be a cushy desk job where you could put your head down until retirement. Well, I'm sorry. As of today, that dream is over."

"There is no evidence of any attack or other parties-"

"Yes, let's just sit around and wait for the evidence while the bodies pile up." The Doctor let Ember finish her drink before he took the glass from her. "Or here's a crazy thought. We could do something to stop it. Why am I even talking to you?"

He took Ember's hand, pulling her with him as he left the office. And almost bumped right into Perkins, who had several rolls of paper.

"Uh, passenger manifest, plan of the train and a list of stops for the past six months." He said.

The Doctor raised a brow. "Quick work, Perkins. Maybe too quick."

Perkins gave him a flat look. "Yes, sir. I'm obviously the mummy. Or perhaps I was already looking into this."

* * *

Back in the engineer's room, the Doctor, Ember, Perkins and Professor Moorhouse were watching a CCTV feed of what had happened to Mrs Pitt. To them, it looked like she was simply have a delusion, seeing something no one else could. At the end of it, she simply dropped into her seat in heap.

"Sixty six seconds." The Doctor said, having timed it with a stop watch. "It fits the myth. Did you see the lights flicker?"

Moorhouse nodded as Perkins spoke. "Yeah, the lights went in the kitchen as well just before the chef saw it."

"In all of the accounts, conventional weapons have no effect on the Foretold." Moorhouse added. "It's immortal, unstoppable, unkillable."

"...Can we get a new expert?"

Ember smirked.

* * *

A little while later, Moorhouse was asleep in a chair while Perkins was slumped at his desk. The Doctor was looking through papers, trying to find a pattern or some clue they'd missed, while Ember was sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed as she meditated again.

For her, trying to find strong connections with the elements of water and earth were difficult not only because they were on a train moving through space, but also because she'd not long awakened to them. Like the Doctor had explained before; it was like moving a muscle she never knew she had.

Fire, on the other hand, seemed much easier to sense. Maybe it was because of her ability to make fire appear out of nowhere. It made her wonder if she could make water appear from nowhere, or even the earth. And would it work when she could finally control the wind element?

Ember was so deep in her concentration that she didn't notice it, but the Doctor did: he paused in his search when what felt like a light brush of air went past, rustling some of the papers. It was minuscule, easy to miss, but it was there.

The Doctor looked over at Ember, debating wether to mention it or not. She'd said she'd only just awakened to the earth element in her last trip, so it was too soon for her to get to the next one. It had to be a fluke, right?

Unless...

The choice was taken out of his hands when there was suddenly a loud beeping sound and the blinds covering the windows rose up. The unexpected sound and movement made Ember jump, breaking her concentration.

"Lovely wake up call," Ember muttered, pushing herself to her feet. She moved to the Doctor's side. "Speaking of, Maybe you should check on Clara."

The Doctor nodded, moving to the internal phone that was hanging on the wall. With a flick of the Sonic, he removed it from the wall so he could move while talking. He put it to his ear and waited until there was an answer before he spoke. "Wake up, Sleepy-head. Time for breakfast. Knowing this train, it'll taste amazing."

_"Doctor, please,"_ Clara said, heard by Ember as she got close enough to listen._ "I'm in trouble..."_

"Can't even get that right, huh?" The Doctor asked.

_"Doctor-"_

"Bad food on trains is traditional."

_"Doctor, please, just li-"_

**"**Listen, there's been another mummy murder. So our last hurrah just became a bit more interesting." The Doctor rambled, though he winced as Ember slapped his arm. "What?"

"Listen to her," the brunette said just before Clara then spoke.

_"I'm trapped!"_

That made the Doctor pause. "What? Where are you?"

As Clara gave him directions, Ember moved to where Perkins and Moorhouse were asleep, shaking them awake. "Sorry, boys, but we gotta go now."

The two bewildered humans got up as the Doctor left the room, and they followed him through the train until they got to the baggage car, where the Doctor was quick to thump his fist on the door.

"Clara!" He called. "Is that you?"

_"Yes. Yes! Hello! Can you hear us?"_ Clara's voice came faintly through from the other side of the door, but they could still hear her through the phone.

The Doctor noticed that there was a high heeled shoe jammed into the keypad and pulled it out, flinching back at the sparks that followed. "Ow! Computer, can you open the door, please?"

_"Call me Gus."_ The computerised male voice replied._ "I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order."_

"Maisie used that," Ember said, pointing to the shoe.

"Oh. Forget it." The Doctor tried to scan the door with his Sonic, but then it seemed to stutter before stopping altogether. "Oh. Now the stupid sonic..."

_"What?"_ Clara called.

"Screwdriver's not working."

_"What? What do you mean, it's not working? Why?"_

"I don't know. Some sort of a suppression field, I would guess. And it has to be a guess because, as I say, the stupid sonic screwdriver's not working. What are you even doing in there?"

_"Well, I was looking for you, Mister Nothing To Worry About."_

"What, was I supposed to waken you up? Drag you out of bed because I had a hunch? I thought you didn't want to do this any more."

_"Look, look, please, can we just not do this now?"_ Clara said at last. _"I think we might not be alone in here. There's a sarcophagus."_

"Is it in there?" The Doctor asked.

_**"**I think we might just be about to find out. Turns out the sonic is working. Just not on the door we need."_

The lights flickered. The Doctor tried to get the door to open. "Clara, it's coming!"

_"Doctor? Doctor, it's okay. It's uh... it's full of bubble wrap."_

"But the lights...?"

Ember shook her head, trying to ignore the nauseous feeling that had come back. "It's not in there. Clara is fine."

"Doctor, move away from the door."

The two of them turned, to find Quell stood with two other guards. One of them was pointing a gun at them.

"Our friend's inside." The Doctor said.

"Then they're in trouble, too." Quell replied. "I spoke to Head Office. There is no mystery shopper. You're not even on the passenger list."

The Doctor sighed. "Clara, I'm going to have to call you back."

Quell let his colleagues take them, one holding the Doctor while the other had Ember, and handcuff them. "Come on."

"You know, I'm going to have to mark you down for this." The Doctor said as they were led out of the baggage car.

"You are _not_ mystery shoppers. For all I know, you're the one behind the killings."

"Oh, come on, Captain! How many people have to die before you stop looking the other way?"

They had just made it into the lounge carriage when they noticed the commotion going on inside. The guard that was in charge of the carriage had his gun out and was shooting at something.

"Get back! Stay back!" He was yelling as his shots broke glasses that were on tables. The guests and staff ducked for cover.

"What do you think you're doing, man?" Quell demanded.

The guard fell into a chair in a panicked heap, dropping the gun. "Please, please! Stop! No!"

"Get up, man. That's an order!"

The man's screaming stopped abruptly, and he fell back. A nearby man in a white coat and sporting a beard moved to him to check his pulse, only to shake his head.

Ember frowned. It had happened again: one minute she was fine, then she was feeling like she was going to throw up, and then suddenly she was fine again. It had happened twice now; it couldn't be coincidence.

Quell took the fallen man's gun from Moorhouse and handed it to one of the other guards before he turned to look at the Doctor. "It turns out it's three. The amount of people that had to die before I stopped looking the other way."

The Doctor nodded as he and Ember were released. "Thank you."

"Same as the others?" Perkins asked, having appeared from seemingly nowhere at the Doctor's elbow.

The two guards moved to pick up the body and carry it away. "Excuse me please. Take his feet. Excuse me please."

"Ladies and gentlemen, could I have a moment of your time, please?" The Doctor raised his voice so that everyone in the carriage could hear him. "There's a monster on this train that can only be seen by those about to die. If you _do_ see it, you will have exactly sixty six seconds left in which to live. But that isn't even the strangest thing. Do you know what is? You. The passengers. Experts in alien biology, mythology, physics. If I was putting together a team to analyse this thing, I'd pick you. And I think somebody has. Someone of immense power and influence has orchestrated this whole trip. Someone who I have no doubt is listening to us right now. So, are you going to step out from behind the curtain and give us our orders?"

There was a low hum that only lasted a few seconds. Perkins recognised the sound. "The engines. They've stopped."

The doors closed and locked on both ends of the carriage. With a fizzling sound, the interior decor of the carriage changed from a 1920's classic train to a high-tech laboratory, complete with computer screens, test tubes and various other equipment.

"And the facade drops away," The Doctor added, "because what use are a bunch of scientists without a lab?"

"That's not the only illusion," Ember said, moving to the nearest person and patting his shoulder. "That guard was shooting wildly in a small space with lots of people, yet not one person was injured. Why?"

Another fizzle, and a large number of the people disappeared, including the man she'd touched. There was only a handful of people left behind, one of which reminded Ember of Albert Einstein.

"Teleporter?" Perkins asked, looking around.

"No. Hard light holograms." The Doctor corrected. "They were never really here. Fake passengers to make up the numbers."

"That was my best guard." Quell said, having noticed that one of his guards was now missing.

There was a bing sound, and a thumbs up icon appeared on the nearest screen before it change to an image of a monocle. Then Gus spoke. _"Good morning, everyone! Around the room you will find a variety of scientific equipment. Your goal is to ascertain the Foretold's true nature, probe for weaknesses with a view to capture, after which we will reverse engineer its abilities. Isn't this exciting?"_

"You said capture, implying that you can't control this thing." The Doctor pointed out. "And yet somehow you got it on board. How?"

_"There is an artefact, an ancient scroll. I have highlighted it for your convenience."_ A small spotlight turned to show exactly that on the door at the far end of the carriage. _"For reasons currently unknown, the Foretold appears in the vicinity of this artefact."_

"And kills at regular intervals."

"Then maybe we should just throw this thing out in the airlock." Quell said, moving to do just that.

"No! No! No!"

The moment the man touched the scroll, he received a nasty electric shock. He fell back with a thud.

Perkins sighed. "Looks like they've thought of that."

"What if we say no?" Moorhouse asked the computer. "Down tools. Refuse to work."

_"That is your choice, of course. But it would be very upsetting were you all to die at the hands of the Foretold."_

"So hurry up, before it kills you." Perkins summarised.

The Doctor frowned. "But even if they agree to this, how are they supposed to study a creature that they can't even see? We don't even know what the species is."

The lights flickered, and the nausea came back to Ember, making her swallow hard and lean against the wall.

"Perkins, start the clock." The Doctor called. "Now, who can see it?"

"Approximately one point eight metres tall." Moorhouse suddenly said, looking at something at the far end of the carriage. "Actually, seeing it in the flesh isn't nearly as rewarding as I thought it might be."

"Oh, dear. Hard cheese. What can you see? Details."

Moorhouse blinked. "Yes. Yes, of course, of course. Uh Well, it just looks like uh... a man in bandages. I-"

"What kind of bandages? Old? New?"

"Old."

"Whole? Ragged?"

"Ragged. Falling off in places. I don't know what you want me to tell you!"

"Listen to me!" The Doctor said. "You can see this thing. We can't. Tell us what you can see. Even the smallest detail might help save the next one."

"The next one?" Moorhouse breathed. "You mean you can't save me?"

"Well, that is implied, isn't it? Yes, this is probably the end for you. But make it count. Details, please."

"Um, flesh. Some of it is visible-"

"Thirty seconds." Perkins called

"Uh, leathery. Ancient looking. Peat bog preserved..."

"Keep talking. Don't waste this chance!"

That appeared to have an unwanted affect on the professor. "I want to bargain for my life!"

"W-w-w-what?"

"Well, it says, some of the myths say if you, if you find the right word, if you make the right offer, then it lets you go."

The Doctor shook his head. "This is not a myth. This is real. Forget your superstitions. Tell us what you can see!"

"This is my life, my death. I'm going to fight for it how I want!" Moorhouse snapped at him before facing the mummy again. "Ah, I give you-"

"Ten seconds!" Perkins called again.

"-My soul! I confess all sins. I give you all my worldly goods. Oh, please, please, please. No!" Then he suddenly dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

"...Zero."

There was a ding sound before Gus spoke. _"We apologise for any distress you may have just experienced. __Grief counselling is available on request. On the bright side, I'm sure you've all collected a lot of data. Well done, everyone!"_

Perkins looked at the screen he'd had the timer on. "It's recording every death."

"Of course it is." The Doctor replied after checking on Ember, who was suddenly feeling better again. He then moved to a coat rack that had several white lab coats hanging from it, passing them out. "That's why we're here. To study our own demise. So let's get to work. Come on. Chop, chop."

Ember waited for a few minutes until everyone was set to work, and then she pulled the Doctor to the side. "Doctor, something's happening to me. Every time the mummy appears, I feel sick, but then it goes away when the mummy does."

"Hmm..." The Doctor furrowed his brow in thought. "And it's happened every time?"

"Yes. First when we were talking to the professor, then when Quell cuffed us, and just now."

"Something about the mummy is having a reaction on you. However it's making itself invisible and killing its victims, you're somehow feeling it. You'll probably feel sick the next time too."

"What if there is no next time?" Ember asked, an idea coming to mind. "What if I tell you everything about it right now?"

_"I'm sorry to interrupt,"_ Gus suddenly spoke, making everyone look up._ "But I am under strict instructions to not allow Miss Ember to divulge what is classed as a 'spoiler'. There is only one acceptable circumstance that will counter this order."_

"What does that mean?" Perkins asked, turning to the Time Lords. "What does he mean by a spoiler?"

Ember frowned at the ceiling. "He doesn't want me to tell you what the Foretold really is."

"You know?" Quell said. "Then tell us!"

_"I apologise for interrupting again, but if Miss Ember does reveal all the details of the Foretold while not under the acceptable circumstance, it would render this experiment pointless. Therefore, I would then have no choice but to decompress every area on the entire train."_

Ember groaned. "In other words, you'll kill everyone if I spoil it for them. So what, do I just sit here and keep my mouth shut?"

_"My instructions are to allow you to provide the team with what is categorised as 'hints'."_

"Okay, well, here's one," Ember said, turning to the group. "It's not a natural force that's doing this."

_"That would be catergorised as a 'hint'. Good work!"_

That made Ember roll her eyes. "You know, I bet there's a switch somewhere that makes you shut up, and every time you talk, it makes me want to find it all the more." She then turned to the humans. "I don't know how much I can tell you before it's classed as a spoiler, so you guys better get to work."

"I have a question," Quell said. "If you knew what this thing is, why didn't you tell me at the start?"

"Would it have mattered?" The Doctor retaliated. "If she went up to you and said 'hey, there's a killer mummy on board this train, and I can tell you why', would you have believed her?"

That made Quell purse his lip. He couldn't deny it.

The Doctor nodded. "Right, now lets get to work."

Suddenly, there was a ringing sound. The Doctor picked up the one he'd taken earlier and moved to Ember's side so she could hear the whole conversation. "Clara Oswald."

_"Okay. So, first things first."_ Clara said. _"The sarcophagus is actually a secure stasis unit."_

"Yes. It's where they want us to put the Foretold if we capture it."

_"Well, that would have been good to know."_

"Sorry. Teeny bit busy round here. What else?"

_"Please terminate your call and return to work."_ Gus said politely after another ding sound.

_"We have some paperwork." _Clara said, ignoring the request._ "Passenger manifests from other ships. Maisie recognised a couple of the names. These are missing ships."_

"So, we're not the first." The Doctor mused.

"No."

_"Please terminate your call and return to work."_ Gus said again.

Clara again ignored it. _"I've got some progress reports. The Gloriana spent three days getting picked off by the Foretold. All died. Performance marked as poor. And here's a detail I think you'll want to hear: 'Great Fire not present.'"_

The Doctor looked at Ember, who looked just as confused as he was.

_"__The Valiant Heart."_ Clara continued._ "Forty two crew, four died. __Performance, promising. Great Fire not present."_

_"Please terminate the call and return to work."_ Gus said again.

Quell spotted something odd floating in space outside the window; large cooking pots and other kitchen utensils. He then paled when something else came into view. "I think you should do as it says."

The Doctor, as well as everyone else, moved to the windows, shocked to see people floating in space, their skin blue and their bodies frozen in terror. All of them were wearing catering staff uniforms.

"Clara, I have to go." The Doctor said before he hung up.

_"I'm sorry. I know that must have been distressing for you."_ Gus said. _"But if you are disobedient again, I will decompress another area containing less valuable passengers."_

That made the Doctor think. "Less valuable passengers? How does it choose?"

"Well, I'm assuming qualifications..." Perkins began.

"No, no, no. Not the computer, the Foretold. How does it choose who to kill? We've assumed it's random. What if it's not? I want full histories on all the victims. Medical, social, personal."

"Well done."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the ceiling. "Don't mention it." He then turned to Ember, who was still looking out at the dead catering staff as they drifted away from the train. "Ember, it's alright..."

"I got distracted. I should have warned you." She said before she turned to glare at the ceiling. "Hey, Gus, I have questions. Why was the Great Fire mentioned in those reports?"

_"I'm sorry, but that's confidential information."_ Gus replied.

"Confidential, my ass! I _am_ the Great Fire, so I have a right to know why you had to specifically point out that I wasn't there!"

There was a pause, and then Gus spoke again. _"Your presence in the experiment greatly improves the chances of it being a success, regardless of the performance of everyone else in the exercise."_

Ember closed her eyes and took a breath to calm herself. She couldn't afford to lose her temper here. "Do you already know what the Foretold is?"

_"No. That is the purpose of this experiment: to find out."_

"Okay, and I can't give it away to these people. What if I go to a private room and tell just you?"

_"I'm afraid that I am included in the terms. If you were to tell even me, the protocol to terminate all remaining passengers would come into effect."_

"Damn," Ember muttered. "And who gave you these instructions?"

_"I'm afraid that is confidential, even to you."_

The Doctor cut in, having had a thought. "You said she can't tell us with the exception of one circumstance. What is it, what's the circumstance?"

_"I'm afraid I cannot divulge that information until the circumstance presents itself."_

"Lovely. Fat lot of good that is."

Ember saw Perkins standing to one side with a tablet computer, looking like he wanted to speak but was unsure if he should. "There's a pattern. It's in that."

"But... Doesn't seem to be any pattern." Perkins said as the Doctor moved to his side to look at the tablet. "Their travel history, interests, health. It's all over the shop."

"Health? Are you sure?" The Doctor said. "Mrs Pitt, the first victim. She was over a hundred years old. The frailest passenger on board."

"Oh but the next to go, the chef, was young and fit. It's random."

Quell suddenly spoke up. "The chef was ill."

"What?" The Doctor asked, he and Perkins walking up to him.

"A rare blood disorder. Not contagious, but we kept it quiet."

"Because he worked with food. The next one, the guard?"

"He wasn't ill as such, but he did have synthetic lungs implanted last year."

Perkins looked at the tablet again. "Professor Moorhouse. It seems he was physically fine but suffering from, here we are. Regular panic attacks after a car crash last year."

"It's picking off the weakest first." The Doctor said, looking at Ember. She nodded. "Sensing the illness somehow. The fake organs, even psychological issues. But this is good news, because it means we can work out who is next. I want the medical records of everybody alive who is still on board. If anyone's had as much as a cold, I want to know about it."

"You really think it can sense psychological issues?" Quell asked.

"It seems so. Why?"

Quell led him to the end of the carriage, lowering his voice. "When you said I'd lost the stomach for a fight, I wasn't wounded in battle as such, but... My unit was bombed. I was the sole survivor. Not a scratch on me. But post-traumatic stress. Nightmares. Still can't sleep without pills."

"Which means that you are probably next. Which is good to know."

"Well, not for me."

"Well, of course not for you, because you're going to die. But I mean for us, from a research point of view."

"You know, for a doctor, your bedside manner leaves-" Quell began, but then the lights flickered and he froze, staring at seemingly nothing at the other end of the carriage.

Ember stumbled when the nausea hit her, making her lean on a table to steady herself.

"Well, there's goes our head start." The Doctor muttered. "Perkins, start the clock. What can you see?"

"Almost feels out of focus. Gives me a headache just looking at it." Quell said, then drew his pistol.

"Oh no, no, no, no. That didn't work before!"

"What kind of soldier would I be, dying with bullets in my gun?"

Ember flinched as a glass beaker exploded a few feet away from her. "A good one, if you don't hit me!"

"Fifty seconds!" Perkins callled.

"Someone shut that man up!" Quell snapped at the man. "For the record, it didn't even flinch."

The Doctor tried to think. "Where is it now?"

"Approximately twenty feet in front of me and closing."

"Forty seconds!"

The Doctor moved to stand in front of the mummy. "Am I close?"

"It's passing right through you, like a ghost."

Perkins by now had grabbed a scanner and the tablet, trying to get a reading. "It's not a hologram."

The Doctor took note of that. "If you move, will it follow?"

"Do you want me to move? Because I can certainly do that."

"Keep looking at it, but back off quick as you like."

"That won't work!" Ember called, gritting her teeth to fight to urge to throw up. "There's a detail! Look at it!"

Quell turned around. "She's right. It's teleported away. It's behind me. But... I can't see anything other than flesh and bandages..."

"Twenty seconds!" Perkins said.

"I think this is it. Still, suppose it's not a bad way to go. Blood pumping, enemy at the gates and all that. And thank you, Doctor, for waking me up. It's reaching for me. Hands on my head..."

He dropped to his knees, and then fell back.

"Zero." Perkins breathed.

"Damn it!" Ember snapped. The nausea was gone again, but all that did was make way for frustration. The Albert Einstein lookalike carefully approached, offering her a glass of water, which made her anger simmer away a bit. "Thanks..."

"Teleporter." The Doctor said, going over what little information they'd gained. "That means tech. Then sixty six seconds to do what? Sixty six seconds. That seems very, very specific. Too specific for organic. So, what, more tech? What? More? A countdown clock? Something charging?"

Perkins looked at him. "A man just died in front of us. Can we not just have a moment?"

"No. No, no, no. We can't do that. We can't mourn. People with guns to their heads, they cannot mourn. We do not have time to mourn. Everybody, what takes sixty six seconds to charge up or to change state? Anyone?" No one offered to speak. "Am I surrounded by idiots? If only I could see this thing..."

"Don't even joke about that."

"I'm not joking about it. One minute with me and this thing, it would be over!"

"You know, Doctor, I can't tell if you're a genius or just incredibly arrogant."

"He's both, with every right to be," Ember said. She'd just finished the water and put the glass to one side. "Think carefully. It's an old mummy. It goes after the living. What would that mean?"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment before he got it. "Ancient tech. This thing has been around for centuries. How? Tech that keeps it alive. Tech that drains energy from the living. Scanner!" He snatched the device from Perkins and used it on Quell's body, then threw it back to the engineer. "Deep tissue scan. He's been leached of almost all energy on a cellular level. The heart attack is just a, is just a side effect."

"Oh, it's not just a mummy, it's a vampire." Perkins said, then shrugged. "Metaphorically speaking."

"But why take sixty six seconds to drain us? Why not just pounce?"

Perkins blinked. "Phase. Moving energy out of phase. That takes about a minute, doesn't it?"

"That's why only the victims can see it. It takes them out of phase so it can drain their energy." The Doctor pointed at Perkins. "You, sir, are a genius! This explains everything! Apart from what it is and how it's doing it. Sorry, I jumped the gun there with the you're a genius, that explains everything remark."

Ember suddenly had a thought. "Doctor, maybe that's what's making me feel sick every time it appears. It's slightly out of phase it everything around it, so when it strikes, I can feel it."

The Doctor looked at her. "Yes, of course! You've always been more sensitive to these kinds of things, so you can feel it when it's active! And because it isn't properly in our plane of existence, it makes you sick!"

"Doctor," Perkins called, having looked at the tablet. "I think we know the next victim."

The Doctor took the tablet and looked for himself. "Ah, of course. That makes perfect sense. Maisie."

"She's traumatised and stressed because of what happened, and she feels guilty about her gran dying," Ember added. "She's the most likely to be next. Gus, if we need to study the Foretold, we need it to be here, right?"

_"That would be correct."_ Gus replied.

"And if we need it here, it's next victim has to be here too, right?"

_"That would also be correct."_

Ember took a breath. "They've calculated right. The next victim is Maisie Pitt. But she's in the storage room with Clara. We need her here so we can monitor the next attack. And for that, we need to call them."

_"Very well. I will permit a phone call to retrieve the next test subject."_

"And do me a favour? Don't call her a test subject," Ember quipped.

The Doctor moved to the far end of the carriage, using the phone to call Clara. Perkins moved to Ember's side.

"So what's this about the Great Fire?" He asked. "Is that some kind of nickname?"

Ember gave him a long look, and then nodded. "Yeah. I've got lots of nicknames, but that seems to be the most common one."

"So why do you have it?"

"Well..." Ember quickly glanced around to make sure no one else was watching. "I can show you, but you gotta promise not to tell anyone, okay?"

Perkins nodded. "Cross my heart."

Ember took a breath, concentrating. Then she held up one finger and, to Perkins' surprise, the tip of it was engulfed in a tiny plume of fire, like her finger was actually a candle.

"Whoa..." he breathed, fascinated as he watched the flame go out as quickly as it came. The skin on her finger didn't even look singed. "That's pretty cool. I'm assuming that you can make it bigger? Cuz I don't think you got the nickname from that little trick."

"Well, I usually use it as a scare tactic. Making fire appear between me and a threat. The first time I did it, I burned an illusionary hotel away. And where I am matters too: natural environments make it much easier." Ember straightened her jacket. "See these burns? They're mostly from when I've gone a little overboard. Blow up a house that had a major gas leak once."

Perkins looked impressed. "So that explains the nickname. What about the spoilers bit?"

Ember sighed. "I have a bit of a... well, I guess it can be a gift or a curse, depending on how you look at it. I've seen... visions on how things could go, but it's not always accurate. Sometimes it changes. The problem is, these visions don't include me in them, so I don't know what impact I have on things until I get to them. And it's not at easy as it seems, when you know what's coming."

"That sounds like something that I wouldn't really want, if you ask me." Perkins said. "I mean, if you changed something that you saw in your vision, how do you know that it would end up being a good thing? What if you inadvertently make it worse?"

"Exactly. Knowing the future isn't a gift. It's a responsibility." Ember said, glad that someone outside the Doctor and his companions understood what she was going through. She looked up as the Doctor approached them. "They on their way?"

"Yes." The Doctor replied. "What's going on here?"

"Just letting Perkins here know why I'm called the Great Fire. He's pretty level-headed, Doctor, so-agh!"

A throb of pain in her head made her cringe and close her eyes. She faintly heard the Doctor and Perkins call to her, but her vision was going white...

_The Doctor used the scanner to transfer Maisie's grief and trauma to himself, making him the next victim for the Foretold._

_But he didn't figure it out in time, and the mummy killed him..._

Ember shook out of the vision, finding herself in the Doctor's arms. He was quick to notice when she seemed to be out of the vision. "Ember, what is it? What did you see?"

"No time..." she said, looking at the door at the far end of the carriage. Sure enough, it opened and Clara came in with Maisie. The door immediately closed behind them.

The Doctor made sure that Ember was alright to stand on her own before he let her go. The brunette moved to the middle of the carriage, an idea coming to mind.

"Hello, again. I'm Maisie."

"Good for you." The Doctor said, pulling her with him as he walked back to the middle of the carriage.

"We passed the Tardis on the way here." Clara said, following them. "Thought about getting inside, hiding, pulling the levers and hoping for the best. But we couldn't even get in. There was a forcefield around it."

The Doctor barely looked at her as he used the scanner on Maisie, walking around the woman to get all angles. "It's probably Gus trying to block our escape route."

"But how does he even know what it is? Cos if he knows what it is, then he knows what you are."

"Well, he has tried to entice me here before. Free tickets, mysterious summons, he even phoned the Tardis number. Do you know how difficult a number-"

"You knew." Clara cut him off. "You knew this was no relaxing break. You knew this was dangerous."

"I didn't _know_. I certainly hoped."

Clara shook her head in disbelief. "Okay, this. You see, this... This is why I'm leaving you. This. Because you lied. You lied to me, again. And now you've made me lie. You've made me your accomplice."

Maisie overheard that bit. "What? Sorry? When did you lie? Clara?"

"Maisie, I am... I am so sorry."

The lights flickered, and Maisie suddenly looked scared as she alone saw the mummy. Ember bit her lip as the nausea returned.

"Do we start the clock?" Perkins asked.

"Not yet." The Doctor said as he moved to stand in front of Maisie and used the scanner on her face, making her look at him. "Focus, Focus, Focus! All of that is your grief, your trauma, your resentment. And now-"

He was about to put the scanner to his own head when someone snatched it out of his hands. He whirled around just in time to see Ember flinch as she used it on herself.

"It's mine," she grunted, closing her eyes and holding her head. "Sorry, Doctor, but it's my turn to play guinea pig. Oh, that hurt..."

Maisie looked around, suddenly unable to see the mummy. "It's gone?"

"No. No, it's not." The Doctor ran up to Ember as she dropped the scanner. "What did you do that for?"

Ember looked over his shoulder, seeing the mummy at the far end of the car, reaching out a hand as it began to shuffle forward. The nausea was worse now that she was the target, and it even made a bit of bile come up her throat, but she forced it down. "You were gonna take too long. Start the clock!"

"Doctor, what just happened?" Clara asked, now worried for the brunette, as Perkins started the timer.

"I took a scan of her brain and was about to put it in mine so that the Foretold would think I'm her," The Doctor said quickly as he turned to look for the scanner that Ember had dropped. When he spotted it, he was about to grab it when it was engulfed in in a small plume of fire, and he turned to see Ember holding her hand out. "What are you doing?!"

Ember shook her head. "If you'd done it, you'd have ran out of time. Now shut up, I'm trying to sort this out in my head!" She winced as memories that weren't hers came unbidden through her mind. "Oh, not fun. She didn't like her grandmother..."

"Ember, Focus," The Doctor urged, forced to abandon the scanner and move to her side. "You need to focus and tell me what you see!"

"She thought her gran killed her pony... I think she did..."

"Not on the memories, on the mummy! You need to tell me what you can see so I can help you!"

Clara moved closer. "What's happening?"

The Doctor shook his head. "She's got someone else's grief in her head, it's taking time for her to filter it out. Ember, come on, you need to focus!"

Ember backed away as the mummy came closer, tears falling from her eyes not only from the trauma Maisie had been hiding but the clear pain on the mummy's face. "Oh, you didn't think it would hurt, did you? You didn't think it would go wrong..." she flinched at a spike of pain followed by another memory. "Oh, her father... I'm so sorry..."

Maisie flinched as well. "Oh!"

"Ember, come on, Focus!" The Doctor said. "You need to talk to me now!"

"Gus!" Ember shouted to the ceiling, ignoring the Doctor for now. "That circumstance, is this it?"

_"It is. You may now divulge what is classed as 'spoilers'."_

"Glad to hear that," Ember muttered, trying to fight the nausea. "Okay. The scroll... it's not a scroll..."

"Thirty seconds!" Perkins called.

Ember pushed the Doctor away from her, trying to see past the nausea and the pain from Maisie's trauma, trying to focus on the mummy that was still coming. "It's a flag! You're following that flag because it's yours, what you swore to fight for. You're a soldier, you were wounded so long ago, but you had technology. Phase camouflage so you could go around unseen, a teleport so you could travel, even tech to keep you alive for that little bit longer, but it broke, and it's keeping you trapped, forcing you to drain the life force of the living..."

"Ten seconds!" Perkins said as the brunette pressed her back against the wall.

"It won't let you go," Ember said, choking on a sob as the mummy raised its other hand to join the first one on the path towards her head. "Even in death, it won't let you go, not until the war ends. But it ends now because WE SURRENDER!"

The mummy's hands stopped barely an inch from her head.

"Zero." Perkins breathed.

Maisie gasped. "I can see it again!"

"It's okay." Clara said as the mummy lowered its hands and stepped back. "I think we all can."

"Do I start the clock?" Perkins asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "No. The clock has stopped."

Ember gave a tearful smile as the mummy raised its hand again, this time to salute her. The nausea was gone now. "Rest now. You've earned it."

The mummy then fell apart, disintegrating into a pile of dust and old bandages. The onlookers gave a unified sigh of relief as the Doctor quickly knelt by the remains and picked out a handheld device with wires attached.

"We were fighting that?" Clara asked.

The Doctor nodded. "So was he."

"Listen, what I said-"

"Save it. We're not out of the woods yet." The Doctor waved her off, holding the device up to the light to see it better. "Well, Gus, I think we solved your little puzzle. Ancient soldier being driven by malfunctioning tech."

_"Thank you so much for your efforts. They are greatly appreciated."_ Gus said. _"Unfortunately, survivors of this exercise are not required."_

The Doctor rolled his eyes as he got his Sonic and went to the nearest table to grabbed another tool. "Ah, well, there's a shocker."

There was a whooshing sound, and everyone suddenly found it hard to breathe._ "Air will now be removed from the entire train. We hope you have enjoyed your journey on the Orient Express."_

"I take it you know a way out?" Clara wheezed.

"My enemy's enemy is my friend. Especially when he has a built in teleporter." The Doctor said as Maisie and Perkins passed out, along with several other people.

"Great! So use it!"

"A little more work..."

"Doctor!"

"Couple of minutes. Max. I'll give you a shout."

Ember knelt on the ground, feeling the room spinning. She already knew that she could hold out longer than the humans. "Any time you're ready!"

Clara collapsed to the floor.

"Aha! Got it!"

Then the world went white.

* * *

A little while later, Clara woke to find herself on what looked like a normal pebble beach on Earth, and the sky was pink like it was sunset or dawn. She sat up, only just then realising that she was wrapped up in one blanket while lying on another. A quick look around told her that it definitely wasn't Earth: the city nearby had tall, pointed buildings.

"Oh, hello again. Sleep well?"

Clara turned to see the Doctor and Ember not far away. The Doctor was the one who'd spoken, but his gaze was on Ember, who was looking at the marks he'd made in one of the few patches of sand with a stick. Her brow was furrowed.

"Weren't we just on a train?" Clara asked.

"Oh, that was ages ago."

"And?"

"And what?" The Doctor looked puzzled for a moment before it clicked. "Oh, and we got off the train. Oh, well, the teleporter worked eventually. Beamed everyone into the Tardis. No casualties, just a bevy of sleeping beauties. I tried hacking Gus from the Tardis, find out who set this all up. He really didn't like that. Set off some fail-safe thing. Blew up the train."

Clara blinked. "Blew up the train?"

"Blew up the train. But we got away. Then I dropped everyone off at the nearest civilised planet, which happened to be here." He gestured to the city. "You seemed happy asleep so I just left you."

"But then he got bored, so I asked him to teach me recreational mathematics." Ember called, though her eyes never left the marks in the sand. Then she blinked and grinned, looking up at the Doctor. "It's a happy prime number!"

The Doctor applauded her. "Well done! You'll need that later."

Clara smiled at the brunette before she looked at the Doctor. "So you saved everyone."

"No, I just saved you and I let everyone else suffocate." The Doctor said dryly. "Ha, ha, ha. Yeah, this is just my cover story."

"So, when you lied to Maisie, when you made me lie to Maisie-"

"I couldn't risk Gus finding out my plan and stopping me."

Clara nodded. "So you were pretending to be heartless."

The Doctor paused. "Would you like to think that about me? Would that make it easier? I didn't know if I could save her. I couldn't save Quell, I couldn't save Moorhouse. There was a good chance that she'd die too. At which point, I would have just moved onto the next, and the next, until I beat it." He moved to sit on the rock next to Clara. "Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones. But you still have to choose."

Ember, who'd been looking at another string of mathematics that the Doctor had put in the sand for her, glanced at them. "If it was that easy to choose between good and bad, the universe would be a lot more simple. But I have a feeling that it isn't supposed to be simple anyway. Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"This one is happy, but not prime."

"Very good."

* * *

Another short while later, They were in the Tardis, but with one extra guest: Perkins was looking at workings in the lower level of the console room.

"It's uh... quite a vehicle you have here, Doctor." He said, lowering the cover and standing up. "I won't pretend to understand half of it. Having said that, I did notice you've got a couple of drive stacks need replacing."

"Oh, you did, did you?" The Doctor asked from where he and Ember were watching him from the stairs.

"Yeah. You should get someone in. And a job like that takes forever."

"Really? Well, I suppose, whoever I did get in, it might just be easier to have them stay on board for a while." The Doctor look at the man meaningfully. "I don't suppose... you'd know of anyone?"

Perkins understood the unspoken question. "No. Sorry, Doctor, but I don't think I do. That job could, uh... change a man."

"Yes, it does. Frequently." The Doctor led the man up the steps the main level. Ember stayed sat on the stairs, though she turned around to lean her elbows on the top step to watch. Clara was near the doors, her phone in hand. "Well, I won't keep you. Goodbye, Perkins. Good to meet you."

"You too, Doctor. And good luck." Perkins shook his hand, and then turned to tip his hat to Ember. "You take care as well."

Ember smiled and waved. Perkins then took his leave, tipping his hat to Clara on his way out.

Clara was quite for a few moments before she spoke, facing the Doctor. "Do you love it?"

"Love what?" The Doctor asked.

"I know it's scary and difficult, but do you love being the man making the impossible choice?"

"Why would I?"

"Because it's what you do, all day, every day."

"It's my life."

"Doesn't have to be." Clara pointed out. "Is it like..."

The Doctor looked at her when she trailed off. "Like what?"

"...An addiction?"

"You can't really tell if something's an addiction till you try and give it up."

"And you never have."

"Let me know how it goes."

At that moment, Clara's phone rang. She turned and went up the steps to the upper galley to take the call.

"You know, you did try to give it up once." Ember said, making the Doctor turn to face her. "You got hurt, and you tried to retire. Was willing to spend the rest of your life living in the clouds where no one could find you."

The Doctor tilted his head. "You haven't been there yet."

Ember shrugged. "No. But from what I saw, you wanted to stop because you didn't want to get hurt again."

"Do you know why I started again?"

"I know _who_ got you to start again. One girl, who told to you to run, and remember."

The Doctor gave a small smile. "Ah, that was one of two reasons. There was a bigger factor that made me face the world again."

Ember blinked, puzzled. "And what was that?"

"I suppose it would be a spoiler for you, but we're not on a train, so I can tell you." He moved to crouch in front of her, looking her directly in the eye. "I went back to this life for two reasons. The first was to save Clara, and second... well, let's say that someone showed me that this universe still needed something. Something that only we can give it, just as that person gave it to me when I needed it."

Ember didn't speak, surprised by the admission. She had a feeling she knew who he was talking about, but the implications...

She spotted movement in the background, and she looked past the Doctor at Clara, to see her at the top of the steps leading to the upper galley.

The Doctor stood and turned as well, letting the subject drop for now. "Was that Danny? What did he want?"

"...He's fine with it." Clara said after a moment.

"Sorry, I..."

"Danny. He's fine with the idea of me and you knocking about." Clara said to clarify, walking down the steps and meeting him at the console. "It was his idea that we stop but, he's decided he doesn't mind and neither do I. Oh, to hell with the last hurrah. Let's keep going."

The Doctor smiled. "That's a big change of heart."

"Yeah, they happen."

"Seriously?"

"Look, as long as you get me home safe and on time, everything is great. I am so sorry. I've had a wobble. It's a big wobble, but it's fine. Forget about it. Now, shut up and give me some planets."

"Well, I'm glad that you said that, because you know that one that's made entirely of shrubs. Are you sure about this?" The Doctor had to check one last time.

"Are you? Have you ever been sure?"

"No."

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go."

Ember grinned as the two of them pulled levers together, setting them into flight.

* * *

And there it is! Hope I did alright with it.

Oh, got something to ask: I've had a reviewer ask if there was going to be any smut in this saga, since I've got the rating up to maximum. Now, I can tell you that there is going to be mentions of it at the very least, but what would you think if I actually added the scenes in? Would you want to skip it, or do you silently want it as much as the reviewer hinted?

If you would prefer that I put in the least amount of explicit detail as possible, I can do that and post the actual scenes (lemons, smut, whatever you'd prefer to call it) in a separate post of work (possibly even on a different site, like Archive of Your Own) so that you won't have to skim past it to avoid it. There will still be mentions about it, but it would be safe for the most part. But please say so if you don't want it put here: I don't want to upset someone by putting it in the main body of work and making them have to tiptoe around it because they felt they couldn't tell me.

Next Time: Ember has to face masters of magic forces next. Can her control of the elements triumph? Stay tuned!


	15. Chapter Fifteen: The Shakespeare Code

And here's one of my favourite episodes! Hope you enjoy!

As for my previous question about adding mature scenes (well, the smut, in other words), I've had several replies from you which have helped immensely. I've decided to write the whole scene, but depending on how long it ends up being, I might have to put it in a separate fic to make it easier for those who want to skip it.

I will warn you, however, that there will be mentions of certain details that occur 'behind closed doors'. Some of them are rather innocent, but there will be ones that are a little more detailed.

But don't worry: it's not going to be for a while yet, but I'll definitely put up a warning nearer the time.

Until then, enjoy!

Oh, speaking of warnings; there's gonna be swearing in this one.

* * *

Chapter 15: The Shakespeare Code

* * *

When Ember jumped next, she ended up in the Tardis mid-flight, which left her having to scramble for something to hold on to. Unfortunately, she crashed into someone first, and she looked up in time to see Martha Jones looking back at her with wide eyes. "Hi, Martha."

"How did you do that?" Martha asked. "You just vanished and now you've reappeared with different clothes!"

Ember glanced down at her grey jeans, red top and denim jacket topped off with combat boots, and then she looked around the main coloumn of the console to see the Tenth Doctor on the other side, grinning at her. "Her first trip?"

"Yep!" The Doctor chirped, popping the 'p' as he moved to turn a handle. "Martha, I told you, Ember jumps through time. Kinda like the Tardis, except it's just her."

Martha looked at at the rotor, seeing what looked like pistons going up and down. "But how does she jump? And how do you travel in time? What makes it go?"

"Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything. Martha, you don't want to know. It just does. Hold on tight!"

Ember grabbed on to the console next to the would-be doctor. "Martha, to explain how this ship works, I'd need a few years, a lot of diagrams and the manual, but we kinda don't have any of those to hand right now. I can give you a short version later?"

Martha didn't get the chance to answer that, because there was a thump that sent them to the floor. "Blimey! Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?"

"Yes, and I failed it. Dunno about Ember." The Doctor said, moving to grab a red jacket to toss over to Martha before he grabbed his own trench coat. "Now, make the most of it. I promised you one trip, and one trip only." He moved to the doors "Outside this door... brave new world."

"Where are we?"

"Take a look." The Doctor opened the door. "After you."

Ember let Martha go ahead of her, though the Doctor waited for the brunette before he stepped out himself, and the three of them took in the sight of a cobble stoned street with washing lines hanging below overhanging eaves, lamps lit with candles and lots of people in Elizabethan garb walking around.

"Oh, you are kidding me." Martha said in disbelief S she looked around. "You are so kidding me. Oh, my God, we did it. We travelled in time. Where are we? No, sorry. I got to get used to this; whole new language. When are we?"

The Doctor looked up just in time, and pulled the two ladies back as some... something Ember didn't want to identify landed on the street from above.

"Mind the loo!" A man called, having been the one to empty a bucket out of his window.

"Somewhere... before the invention of the toilet." The Doctor said with a wince. "Sorry about that."

Martha waved him off. "I've seen worse. I've worked the late night shift AE."

Now Ember pulled a face. She had a few memories of trips to AE, and none of them were pleasant. That reminded her; she'd have to ask the Doctor to check her for evidence of those trips: if they'd been real, she needed to know.

They'd just started walking - going around the mess in the street - when Martha spoke again. "But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?"

"Of course we can." The Doctor said, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

"It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly, you change the future of the human race."

The Doctor looked at Ember in confusion, to which she shrugged, before he looked at Martha again. "Tell you what then, don't step on any butterflies. What have butterflies ever done to you?"

"I like butterflies," Ember said. "They're kinda mesmerising."

"What if, I don't know..." Martha said, walking to catch up with them as they began to walk again. "What if I kill my grandfather?"

The Doctor turned so that he was walking backwards. "Are you planning to?"

"No."

"Well, then." The Doctor turned back to walk forwards again, taking Ember's hand.

"And this is London?"

"I think so. Round about 1599."

"Oh, but hold on." Martha said. "Am I all right? I'm not going to get carted off as a slave, am I?"

"Why would they do that?" The Doctor asked, genuinely puzzled.

Martha pointed at her own face. "Not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed."

"We're not even human. Just walk about like you own the place. Works for us. Besides, you'd be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time." The Doctor pointed to where a man was shivering horse manure into a bucket. "Look over there. They've got recycling." Then he pointed at where several men were talking around a barrel of water. "Water cooler moment."

There was a man holding a book, preaching. "...And the world will be consumed by flame!"

"Global warming." The Doctor said. "Oh, yes, and entertainment. Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark, right next to..." he jogged down the street, pulling Ember with him and followed by Martha, until they turned a corner to see a large building. "Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Through, strictly speaking, it's not a globe, it's a tetradecagon. Fourteen sides. Containing the man himself."

It barely took a moment for Martha to realise what he was talking about. "Whoa, you don't mean... Is Shakespeare in there?"

"Oh, yes!" The Doctor offered an arm. "Miss Jones, will you accompany me and Miss Ember to the theatre?"

Martha grinned, accepting the arm. "Mister Smith, I will."

"When you get home, you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare!"

"Then I could get sectioned."

Ember grinned as they walked towards the theatre. She loved plays, and here was her chance to see one of the best.

* * *

The trio had managed to get into the pit of the theatre, and even managed to get a decent place in the middle 'row' to watch. They managed to catch a good amount of the play, clapping with the audience once it was over.

"That's amazing! Just amazing." Martha said. "It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?"

The Doctor shrugged. "London never changes."

"Where's Shakespeare? I want to see Shakespeare. Author! Author!" Martha paused after the cheer, looking sheepish. "Do people shout that? Do they shout Author?"

"Author!" A man shouted from behind them. "Author!"

It was only a matter of seconds before the whole crowd was chanting the word.

"Well, they do now." The Doctor said, taking Ember's hand. He knew how she felt about crowded spaces, but to his relief she seemed to be over the worst of it, though she subconsciously leaned a little more into his side.

Then a man appeared on the stage, making the crowd roar with cheers and applause. He could only be the William Shakespeare, but he looked younger and more attractive.

Martha eyed him as she clapped. "He's a bit different from his portraits."

"Genius. He's a genius. The genius!" The Doctor was practically gushing. "The most human human there's ever been. Now we're going to hear him speak! Always he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words..."

Shakespeare opened his mouth, and then... "Ah, shut your big fat mouths!"

The crowd laughed as the Doctor deflated in disappointment. "Oh, well."

"You should never meet your heroes." Martha said.

"You've got excellent taste, I'll give you that." The bard said before pointing at a man. "Oh, that's a wig!" He let the crowd laugh again. "I know what you're all saying. Loves Labour's Lost, that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops! Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon." The crowd began demanding when. "Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius!"

He bowed low... and then jerked upright like someone had tugged him. Ember squeezed the Doctor's hand twice, getting the same in response.

Shakespeare looked at the crowd again. "When? Tomorrow night. The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it... Loves Labour's Won!"

Everyone in the crowd clapped and cheered at that news... with the exception of the Doctor and Ember.

A few minutes later, everyone was filing out of the theatre. The Doctor kept Ember's hand in his as they walked with the crowd.

"I'm not an expert," Martha said, "but I've never heard of Loves Labour's Won."

"Exactly." The Doctor said. "The lost play. It doesn't exist, only in rumours. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. And no one knows why."

"Have you got a mini-disc or something? We can tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint!"

The Doctor gave her a flat look, hoping she was joking. "No."

"That would be bad."

"Yeah."

Martha nodded, letting it go. They all knew she was joking anyway. "Well, how come it disappeared in the first place?"

The Doctor looked at Ember, who nodded. "Well, I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the Tardis, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer."

"We should talk to the bard himself," Ember said. "And I happen to know where he'll be."

* * *

The trio of travelers were quick to get to the Elephant; a local tavern where Shakespeare was known to frequent. A few flashes of the psychic paper let them in without a fuss, and they made their way upstairs into the private area.

The Doctor knocked on the door that led to Shakespeare's room, where the bard himself was sat at his desk with two men opposite him. "Hello! Excuse me, not interrupting, am I? Mister Shakespeare, isn't it?"

"Oh, no. No, no, no. Who let you in?" Shakespeare groaned. "No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove..."

By chance he glanced behind the Doctor, where Ember and Martha had just peeked around, and suddenly he changed his tune.

"Oh, nonny nonny. Sit right down here next to me." He said before addressing the men in front of him. "You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go."

"Come on, lads." The barmaid said, stepping back. "I think our William's found his new muse."

"Sweet ladies," Shakespeare said, which surprised Ember: she didn't expect him to take a liking to her, especially with the scar on her face.

If that was a surprise, she was in for a shock, as the Doctor took one of the newly vacated seats and then promptly pulled the brunette onto his lap, making her squeak. So startled was she, that she didn't notice the Doctor send Shakespeare a warning look.

Shakespeare saw the warning for what it was and smoothly turned his attention to Martha as she sat in the other chair. "Such unusual clothes. So... fitted..."

Martha smiled. "Um... verily, forsooth, egads..."

"No, no, don't do that. Don't." The Doctor said to her before he held out the psychic paper for Shakespeare to see. "I'm Sir Doctor, this is Dame Ember, and this is our companion, Miss Martha Jones."

Ember blinked, puzzled. She was a Dame?

"Interesting, that bit of paper." Shakespeare said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "It's blank."

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, that's very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius."

"No, it says so right there." Martha said. "Sir Doctor, Dame Ember, Martha Jones. It says so."

Shakespeare met her gaze evenly. "And I say it's blank."

"Psychic paper." The Doctor said to Martha, pocketing the paper. "Uh, long story. Oh, I hate starting from scratch..."

"Psychic? Never heard that before and words are my trade. Who are you exactly? More's the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?"

That made Martha bristle. "What did you say?"

"Oops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this!"

The Doctor rubbed his face with a sigh. "It's political correctness gone mad. Um, Martha's from a far-off land... Freedonia."

The door to the room opened with a loud thud, and a large man in expensive threads stepped in. The gold chain around his neck showed that he was some kind of official. "Excuse me! Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mister Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."

Shakespeare sighed. "Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it round."

"I don't work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!"

"I can't."

"Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled."

Ember saw movement at the corner of her eye, and looked to see a maid that had been in the far corner discreetly leave the room.

"It's all go around here, isn't it?" Martha muttered, having not noticed the maid.

"I'm returning to my office for a banning order." The man said. "If it's the last thing I do, Love's Labours Won will never be played."

With that, he turned and left. Shakespeare sighed again, muttering curses under his breath. "Damn Lynley always has it out for me..."

Ember caught the Doctor's hand and squeezed it twice, which made him look at her as she managed to get to her feet. She wanted to go after the official, but what could she say? 'Hey, a witch is about to kill you'?

"Ember?" The Doctor said. "Are you alright?"

"... yeah. Just a bad feeling..."

"Well, mystery solved." Martha said, which surprised Ember: that was too quick. "That's Love's Labours Won over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know, more mysterious."

"Ask and you shall receive," Ember muttered. Before anyone could question her, there was suddenly a scream from outside, and then another. The brunette was already at the door by the time the Doctor, Martha and Shakespeare had got to their feet, but they caught up with her at the door leading to the street, where a crowd was gathering.

It didn't take long to see why; the official from earlier was stumbling toward them, spitting up water. What was strange was how much water he was spewing; far too much to be normal.

"It's that Lynley bloke." Martha said.

"What's wrong with him?" The Doctor asked, then decided not to wait for an answer. "Leave it to me. I'm a doctor."

"So am I, near enough." Martha ran forward with him as Lynley collapsed. Ember stayed back, knowing that she'd only get in the way. "Got to get the heart going. Mister Lynley, come on. Can you hear me? You're going to be all right..." she opened the man's mouth to clear his airways so she could perform CPR, only to lean back as more water came out. "What the hell is that?"

"I've never seen a death like it." The Doctor said, doing a quick examination. "His lungs are full of water. He drowned and then... I don't know, like a blow to the heart, an invisible blow..."

Ember moved closer. "Um, we need to do some crowd control here..."

The Doctor looked up and around, noticing the crowd, and then he stood up and walked to the barmaid. "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."

The woman nodded. "Yes, sir."

The maid from earlier grabbed her arm. "I'll do it, ma'am."

Ember couldn't help sending a glare at the maid as she left, knowing what she really was.

"And why are you telling them that?" Martha asked as the Doctor returned to examining the body.

"This lot still have got one foot in the Dark Ages. If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft."

"Okay, what was it then?"

"...Witchcraft."

* * *

A short while later, after the body had been collected and taken away, the trio of travelers returned to Shakespeare's room. The Doctor requested a room to be prepared for them, now willing to stick around to see what was going on.

The barmaid, Dolly, returned. "I got you a room, Sir Doctor. You, Miss Ember and Miss Jones are just across the landing, and I've had a second bed put in at your request."

The Doctor nodded to show that he'd heard. He was leaning against the fireplace with Ember next to him, holding her hand. He knew that she was feeling guilty for not being able to save Lynley, so he was silently offering support.

"Poor Lynley. So many strange events." Shakespeare said before turning to Martha. "Not least of all, this land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor?"

"Where a woman can do what she likes." Martha corrected, standing proud.

The bard then looked at the Time Lords. "And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?"

"I do a lot of reading."

"A trite reply. Yeah, that's what I'd do." He then looked at Ember, surprising her. "And you, Dame Ember. There's something older in your eyes, as unique as they are, but... it's like something within you is stirring..."

Ember met his gaze evenly. "I get that a lot."

Shakespeare nodded, finally turning his eyes to Martha again. "And you? You look at them like you're surprised they exist. They're as much of a puzzle to you as they are to me."

"I think we should say goodnight." Martha said, not really comfortable with how close he was getting to the truth. She turned and left the room.

"I must work." Shakespeare said, gently hinting for them to leave. "I have a play to complete. But I'll get my answers tomorrow, Doctor, and I'll discover more about you and why this constant performance of yourself and your muse."

The Doctor, who'd moved with Ember to the door, looked back at the bard. "All the world's a stage."

"Hmm. I might use that. Goodnight, Doctor."

"Nighty night, Shakespeare." The Doctor gently pulled Ember with him as he left the room.

Ember squeezed his hand to get his attention. "He called me your muse?"

"Well, he's not wrong," the Doctor said, waggling his eyebrows playfully. "You do inspire me so."

Ember looked away in the hopes that he wouldn't see her blush. He did.

They reached the room that had been prepared for them, and the brunette found herself standing at a loss at the sight of only two beds: one was clearly for two people while the other was a single.

Martha was stood next to the larger bed, holding a candle. "It's not exactly five star, is it?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse."

"I've seen much worse," Ember added.

"I haven't even got a toothbrush." Martha said.

"Oh! Uh..." the Doctor pat himself down before he found what he was looking for; a toothbrush wrapped in cellophane. "Contains Venusian spearmint."

Ember smiled when he produced a second one for her. "Oh, these are a godsend! Does the job of flossing too!"

Martha smiled before she looked at the beds. "So, who's going where? I mean, there's only two beds."

"We'll manage. Come on."

Martha looked between Ember, who was still standing by the door, and the Doctor, who'd already moved to the larger bed. "I'll take the smaller one."

That made Ember look at her in surprise, clearly not having expected that. "Sorry?"

"Well, you two are alright to share, right?"

Ember gaped like a fish, and thus didn't put up a fight when the Doctor went over to her and took her hand, guiding her to the larger bed. He looked like a cat who'd caught the canary, but she was too stumped to notice.

"So, magic and stuff." Martha said after a moment, sitting on the smaller bed and putting the candle on the nightstand. "That's a surprise. It's all a little bit Harry Potter."

"Wait till you read book seven." The Doctor said, hopping onto the larger bed. Ember was still staring like she was expecting them to laugh at her. "Oh, I cried."

"But is it real, though? I mean, witches, black magic and all that, it's real?"

"Course it isn't!"

Martha rolled her eyes. "Well, how am I supposed to know? I've only just started believing in time travel. Give me a break."

Ember looked at her. "It depends on how you look at it. Take your medical knowledge for example. If you gave someone here CPR and they lived, they'd assume it was magic. There's a fine line."

"Looks like witchcraft, but it isn't. Can't be." The Doctor said in agreement before he looked at Ember. "Are you going to stand there all night?"

Ember looked at the bed. "Um... wouldn't... tongues wag, or something?"

"Would that be bad?" Martha asked. "It's not like you're not-"

"Remember when I said that Ember jumps through time?" The Doctor called, cutting off Martha's reply. "Well, she doesn't do it in the right order. For her, what happened in the hospital hasn't happened yet."

That made the brunette give him a suspicious look. The way he'd said that implied that something _had_ happened. But what?

"Which explains how she knew who I was and who the plasmavore was," Martha said, nodding. "I get it."

"Alright, keep your secrets." Ember said, smiling to show them that she wasn't angry: at least not at them. "I can play along."

The Doctor gave her a relieved grin as he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bed, though it ended up with the brunette half lying on his chest, which made her blush return full force.

"Sorry," she muttered, shifting to get off of him. He just smirked and waggled his eyebrows at her.

Martha held back a laugh at their behaviour before deciding to spare the brunette any further embarrassment. "So if it's not real magic, then what is it?"

"There's such a thing as psychic energy, but a human couldn't channel it like that. Not without a generator the size of Taunton and I think we'd have spotted that." The Doctor said, letting Ember have a moment to calm herself down by turning to face the would-be doctor. "No, there's something I'm missing, Martha. Something really close, staring me right in the face and I can't see it. Rose'd know. A friend of mine, Rose. Right now, she'd say exactly the right thing. Still, can't be helped." He looked away, rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling. "You're a novice, never mind. I'll take you back home tomorrow."

Martha's face fell at the reminder that she was just a guest. "Great." She turned to blow out the candle, landing them in near darkness.

* * *

About an hour later, Martha was asleep on the bed. The Doctor was staring at the ceiling, in deep thought. So deep that he almost missed it when Ember shifted to get up. "Ember? You alright?"

"Yeah. Just need the bathroom," The brunette said as she stood.

"You want to go back to the Tardis?"

"Nah, I'll be quick."

Ember left the room, making it look like she was going where she'd said, but then she saw Dolly come up the stairs with a broom. The brunette hid in the shadows, waiting until the barmaid passed before following her to Shakespeare's room.

"Will?" Dolly called as she entered the room. Ember peeked around the corner, just about able to see the maid from earlier stood in front of Shakespeare's prone form on his desk. Instead of a maids outfit, she was wearing black robes. "Finished cleaning just in time for your special treat... Oh, aye. I'm not the first, then."

The maid turned around, revealing the traditional warted face of a witch.

"I'll take that to aid my flight," she said, walking up to Dolly and taking the broom from her, "and you shall speak no more this night."

Ember concentrated, and a line of fire erupted from the floor between Dolly and the witch. Dolly screamed and ran from the room, while the witch flinched back. The brunette was about to leave when the witch caught sight of her.

"You call on fire?" She asked as Ember stepped into full view. "How can this be?!"

The sound of running footsteps made the two ladies pause, and then the witch ran to the window and jumped out, using the broom to fly away. Ember made the flames disperse, and a moment later, the Doctor and Martha appeared, their noisy entrance waking Shakespeare.

"What? What was that?" He muttered, still dazed as Martha ran to the window.

The Doctor went straight to Ember. "What happened? We just saw Dolly running for her life screaming about fire."

"So she's alive?" Ember asked, relief flooding her.

"Scared half to death, but alive, yes."

"Doctor?" Martha called, making the Time Lords rum to her side at the window.

"What did you see?"

"...A witch."

Ember narrowed her eyes at the sky.

* * *

Later, a cockerel crowing and dogs barking accomponied the rising sun.

The Doctor, Martha, Ember and Shakespeare were back in his room. They'd tried to talk to Dolly, but she didn't make much sense on account of how shaken she was. Luckily, she hadn't seen Ember, so she didn't have anything to make her think the brunette was a witch. The barmaid had then decided to go and visit her mother out of town, and was already gone by morning.

"Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey." Shakespeare said, sitting at his desk. "She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place when we all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit."

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light." The Doctor said, only half aware of it as he held Ember's hand. The brunette was stood between where he and Martha were sitting.

"Hm, I might use that."

"You can't. It's someone else's."

Martha tilted her head thoughtfully. "But the thing is, Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly nearly died of fright, and they were both connected to you."

Shakespeare looked at her. "You're accusing me?"

"No, but I saw a witch, big as you like, flying, cackling away, and you've written about witches."

"I have? When was that?"

"Not, not quite yet." The Doctor said softly.

Ember leaned closer to Martha so that only she could hear. "Maybe this is where he gets the idea?"

"Peter Streete spoke of witches." Shakespeare said.

"Who's Peter Streete?" Martha asked.

"Our builder. He sketched the plans to the Globe."

"The architect. Hold on..." the Doctor suddenly had a thought before he jumped to his feet. "The architect! The architect! The Globe! Come on!"

* * *

It didn't take them long to get to the Globe Theatre. It was empty of crowds now, which gave them plenty of room. The Doctor was wondering around the space where the audience would be, while Ember was leaning against the stage. Martha and Shakespeare were stood on the stage itself.

"The columns there, right? Fourteen sides." The Doctor mused thoughtfully, turning in circles to look at everything. "I've always wondered, but I never asked. Tell me, Will. Why fourteen sides?"

"It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all." Shakespeare replied with a shrug. "Said it carried the sound well."

Ember tilted her head. "Maybe it carries more than sound?"

The Doctor nodded to show he'd heard her. "Fourteen. Why does that ring a bell? Fourteen..."

"There's fourteen lines in a sonnet." Martha suggested.

"So there is. Good point. Words and shapes following the same design. Fourteen lines, fourteen sides, fourteen facets. Oh, my head. Tetradecagon. Think, think, think! Words, letters, numbers, lines!"

"This is just a theatre." Shakespeare said.

"Oh yeah, but a theatre's magic, isn't it? You should know." The Doctor moved to the stage, leaning his forearms on it. "Stand on this stage, say the right words with the right emphasis a the right time. Oh, you can make men weep, or cry with joy. Change them. You can change people's minds just with words in this place. But if you exaggerate that..."

"It's like your police box." Martha added. "Small wooden box with all that power inside."

"Oh. Oh, Martha Jones, I like you. Tell you what, though, Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?"

Shakespeare shook his head. "You won't get an answer. A month after finishing this place, lost his mind."

"Why?" Martha asked. "What happened?"

"Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled."

"Where is he now?" The Doctor asked.

"Bedlam."

"What's Bedlam?"

"Bedlem Hospital. The madhouse."

"We're going to go there." The Doctor said, taking Ember's hand. "Right now. Come on."

"Wait! I'm coming with you. I want to witness this at first hand." Shakespeare said, jumping down from the stage with Martha as the two men from earlier came in. He took out a handful of papers and gave it to one of them. "Ralph, the last scene as promised. Copy it, hand it round, learn it, speak it. Back before curtain up. And remember, kid, project. Eyes and teeth. You never know, the Queen might turn up." He turned to follow the trio, muttering "As if. She never does."

Ember squeezed the Doctor's hand before she spoke. "Here's a hint, Doctor. Knowledge is power, but so are words."

The Doctor nodded. "Will we get answers from the hospital?"

"Yes. But be careful: The walls have ears."

"And the witch? Is it real?"

"That depends on what you define as real. But there is someone real behind this, and they're not bothered about being labelled as witches because that isn't their name."

The Doctor looked at her, about to speak when Martha cut him off. She'd been talking to Shakespeare, but until now the conversation went unheard.

"Whoa, Nelly!" The medical student said. "I know for a fact you've got a wife in the country."

"But Martha, this is Town." Shakespeare pointed out.

The Doctor walked back to the pair. "Come on! We can all have a good flirt later!"

"Is that a promise, Doctor?"

That and the coy look he received made the Time Lord pause. "Oh, fifty seven academics just punched the air. Now move!" He turned to keep walking, catching sight of Ember smirking. "Oh, hush, you!"

"I didn't say anything," the brunette said innocently.

* * *

A short while later, the group of four reached Bedlam Hospital. Except it didn't look like any hospital that anyone would willingly check in to: it was dark and damp and cold, and even before they went into the building, they could hear people screaming inside. Thanks to the Doctor's psychic paper, they'd gotten in as high class guests.

Ember half wished she could wait outside. It was worse inside than outside. The cells stank of various things that made her stomach lurch, none of the cells were clean or comfortable, and the inmates were not taken care off at all.

The keeper - a rather large man who seemed to enjoy his job far too much - led them along a narrow corridor that had cells on either side. The Doctor kept Ember tucked into his side and as far away from the cells as possible.

"Does my Lord Doctor wish some entertainment while he waits?" The keeper asked. "I'd whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for you. Mad dog in Bedlam."

"No, I don't!" The Doctor said sternly.

"Well, wait here, my lords, while I make him decent for the ladies," the keeper continued down the corridor, thumping cage doors with a stick along the way.

"So this is what you call a hospital, yeah?" Martha asked Shakespeare. "Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?"

"Oh, it's all so different in Freedonia." The bard quipped.

"But you're clever! Do you honestly think this place is any good?"

"I've been mad. I've lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose."

Martha gave him a look. "Mad in what way?"

"You lost your son." The Doctor said.

Shakespeare nodded. "My only boy. The Black Death took him. I wasn't even there."

Now Martha looked guilty. "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence. To be or not to be." The bard paused. "Oh, that's quite good."

"You should write that down." The Doctor suggested.

"Maybe not. A bit pretentious?"

The Doctor shrugged. Ember smiled.

"This way, my lord!" The keeper called. The group moved, and soon found themselves at a cell at the far end. There was only one man in the cell, and he was sat hunched over in rags with his back to them, and he showed no sign of knowing that he wasn't alone.

The keeper opened the door and led the group in. "They can be dangerous, my lord. Don't know their own strength."

"I think it helps if you don't whip them. Now get out!" The Doctor snapped at the man. Once he left, the Time Lord let Ember stay beside Martha and Shakespeare as he approached the hunched form. "Peter? Peter Streete?"

"He's the same as he was." Shakespeare said. "You'll get nothing out of him."

Ember shrugged. "Let him try. It wouldn't hurt."

The Doctor knelt in front of the hunched man and reached out to put his hand on his shoulder. "Peter?"

The man's head jerked up at the touch, his eyes wide and staring.

Ember shuddered as she felt a chill, though no one else seemed affected. Was she somehow sensing the witches watching them?

The Doctor slowly put his hands on Peter's temples and closed his eyes, trying to bring the man's conscious mind closer to the surface. He then opened his eyes without breaking the connection. "Peter, I'm the Doctor. Go into the past. One year ago. Let your mind go back. Back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story. A Winter's Tale. Let go. That's it. That's it, just let go."

He gently eased the man to lay back on his cot and then stood. Peter was still a shivering mess, but now there was a hint of awareness in his eyes.

"Tell me the story, Peter." The Doctor said. "Tell me about the witches."

There was a pause, and then...

"Witches spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered." Peter said, swiping at his own ear as though to brush the voices out. "They whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. Their design! The fourteen walls. Always fourteen. When the work was done... they snapped poor Peter's wits."

The Doctor knelt down again. "Where did Peter see the witches? Where in the city? Peter, tell me. You've got to tell me where were they?"

"...All Hallows Street."

"Too many words."

The Doctor jumped back as soon as the new voice spoke. Right next to him was what looked like a very old woman with a long nose and wrinkly skin: the perfect example of an evil witch.

"What the hell?" Martha cried, stepping back.

"Just one touch of the heart." The witch lifted a hand, about to reach out to touch Peter's chest, but then she caught movement and looked, seeing Ember. The brunette had moved to stand in front of Martha and Shakespeare. "Ah, the one who calls upon fire..."

Ember stepped forward, concentrating. She held up her hand, allowing a plume of flame to appear in her palm like a fireball. "I can do a lot more than that, and I'll gladly show you if you don't back off!"

The witch frowned, but stepped back, allowing the Doctor to grab Peter and pull him back to where the others were.

"Witches," Shakespeare breathed, looking between Ember and the old crone. "I'm seeing witches!"

"Just one touch." The witch said, trying to use words to scare the group. "Oh, oh, I'll stop your frantic hearts! Poor, fragile mortals."

Martha turned to the cell door, which was unfortunately locked. "Let us out! Let us out!"

"That's not going to work." The Doctor pointed out. "The whole building's shouting that."

"Who will die first, hmm?" The witch asked.

"Well, if you're looking for volunteers..."

"No! Don't!" Martha cried as the Time Lord stepped forward.

"Doctor, can you stop her?" Shakespeare asked.

The witch frowned at him. "No mortal has power over me."

"They do if they have the right words," Ember countered.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Oh, there's a power in words. If I can find the right one. If I can just know you..."

"None on Earth has knowledge of us."

"Then it's a good thing I'm here. Now think, think, think. Humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy. Ah! Fourteen! That's it! Fourteen! The fourteen stars of the Rexel Planetary Configuration!" The Doctor pointed at the witch. "Creature, I name you... Carrionite!"

The witch screamed and vanished in a white light, leaving them alone once again. Ember lowered her hand, allowing the flame to go out.

"What did you do?" Martha asked.

"I named her. The power of a name." The Doctor looked at them. "That's old magic."

"But there's no such thing as magic."

Ember shook her head. "Fine line, remember?"

"Well, it's just a different sort of science." The Doctor agreed. "You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. Carrionites use words instead."

"Use them for what?" Shakespeare asked.

"The end of the world."

The bard looked at Ember. "And you? You have witches' powers as well."

"Oi, don't call her a witch!"

"It's alright, Doctor, it's not the first time I've been called that," Ember turned to face Shakespeare. "Look, we can argue if I should be burned at the stake or drowned in the river later, but right now, bad witches are out to destroy the world as you know it, and we're the only ones who can stop it. Now, if you want to think of me as a witch, consider me one of the nice ones, okay?"

Shakespeare looked at her for a long moment, and then he nodded. "You saved Dolly and Peter. I owe you the benefit of the doubt at least."

With that, the Doctor swiftly opened the cell door with his Sonic. They'd offered for Peter to come with them, but he said he needed time to recover from the ordeal. After having Shakespeare promise to come back to get him out once the danger had passed, the group of four decided to make their way back to the tavern to regroup.

Along the way, Martha tapped Ember on the shoulder. "So, you didn't tell me you could make fire appear."

"I didn't?" Ember asked.

"Well, you mentioned something in the hospital we met in that it was risky to use fire since it would burn up the oxygen quicker. Then I saw you use-"

"Ah, spoilers!" The Doctor called, having eavesdropped on them. "She hasn't been there yet, remember?"

"Oh, sorry."

Ember pursed her lips in thought. "I can control three elements so far: Fire, water and earth. Wind is expected to be next, but then after that... I dunno what else."

"But isn't that it? Four elements?"

"Those are Primary Elements," The Doctor said. "Like there's three Primary colours, there are four Primary Elements: Earth, wind, fire and water. After that comes all the others, supposedly not as essential as the first four but still powerful in their own right."

Martha nodded to show that she was following. "So how many elements are there altogether?"

"Well, that's like asking how many colours there are. It depends on perspective. Like you can be vague and start with red, blue, green etc, or you can be specific and go through all the shades of each colour, like crimson, scarlet, blood, rouge..."

Ember grabbed his arm. "Doctor, tell me. How many elements will I be able to control?"

"Well, and this is based from what I've seen you do... someday, I think you'll command them all."

That didn't really make the brunette feel better, but she knew that was about the best she was going to get.

Shakespeare's next words didn't really help either. "So you are a witch that can command the natural elements of the world?"

"I suppose you can look at it like that," Ember said.

"Hmm," The bard nodded. "Well, it's a good thing you're on our side then, isn't it?"

That did make Ember feel better.

* * *

After getting back to the tavern, the group went back to Shakespeare's room to regroup. The bard was using a basin of water to wash his face to prepare himself for the evening.

"The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe." The Doctor explained. He'd taken his trench coat off and was pacing while Martha was leaning against the wall next to Ember. "Nobody was sure if they were real or legend."

"Well, I'm going for real." Shakespeare said, grabbing a nearby towel.

Martha shook her head. "But what do they want?"

The Doctor sighed. "A new empire on Earth. A world of bones and blood and witchcraft."

"But how?"

"I'm looking at the man with the words."

Shakespeare paused when he realised that it was him. "Me? But I've done nothing."

"Hold on, though." Martha said. "What were you doing last night, when that Carrionite was in the room?"

"Finishing the play."

Ember squeezed the Doctor's hand twice, prompting him to speak. "What happens on the last page?"

"The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought provoking as usual." Shakespeare said, then he paused. "Except those last few lines. Funny thing is, I don't actually remember writing them."

"That's it. They used you. They gave you the final words like a spell, like a code. Love's Labours Won. It's a weapon. The right combination of words, spoken at the right place, with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play's the thing! And yes, you can have that."

Ember smiled. "We need a map."

In no time, they had exactly that, though it was quite messy. The Doctor took only a few minutes finding what he needed before he pointed. "All Hallows Street. There it is. Martha and Ember, we'll track them down. Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play."

Shakespeare nodded, shaking the Doctor's hand. "I'll do it. All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing."

"Oh, don't complain." Martha said.

"I'm not. It's marvellous. Good luck, Doctor."

"Good luck, Shakespeare." The Doctor grabbed his coat from the chair and took off, Martha and Ember following. "Once more unto the breach!"

"I like that. Wait a minute, that's one of mine!"

"Oh, just shift!" The Doctor called back. He caught up with Ember and Martha outside, running down the street with the ladies until they reached an intersection. "All Hallows Street, but which house?"

Martha looked at him. "The thing is, though am I missing something here? The world didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me. I'm living proof."

The Doctor blinked. "Oh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux? I know. Back to the Future. It's like Back to the Future."

"The film?"

"No, the novelisation. Yes, the film." The Doctor ignored the flat look he got in return, though he did get a slap on the arm from Ember. "Marty McFly goes back and changes history."

"And he starts fading away." Martha said, only for her eyes to widen in realisation. "Oh my God, am I going to fade?"

"You and the entire future of the human race. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?"

Ember tugged on his sleeve and pointed to a house, just as it's front door opened with an ominous creak. "Witch house, you mean. Remember the maid from the tavern? She's one of them."

Nodding, the Doctor led the girls into the house. Inside was a typical witch's den: dried plants hanging from the ceiling, cobwebs everywhere, the lighting eerie thanks to the candles that dotted the room.

There was a sound from upstairs, and the trio made their way up, to find the same decor as the first floor, and even a cauldron on the far side of the room. Just next to that cauldron was a young woman; the Doctor and Martha recognised her as the maid from the tavern.

"I take it we were expected." The Doctor said.

"Oh, I think Death has been waiting for you a very long time." The woman - Lilith, Ember finally remembered - replied.

Martha strode forward confidently. "Right then, it's my turn. I know how to do this." She pointed at the woman. "I name thee... Carrionite!" Lilith mock gasped and then smiled. "What did I do wrong? Was it the finger?"

"The power of a name works only once. Observe." Lilith pointed at her. "I gaze upon this bag of bones and now I name thee Martha Jones."

Martha's eyes rolled back and she fainted, falling back. The Doctor was swift to catch her and lay her down to quickly check her vitals. "What have you done?"

Lilith tilted her head curiously. "Only sleeping, alas. It's curious. The name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time. And as for you, Sir Doctor..." she pointed at the Time Lord, but nothing happened. "Fascinating. There is no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair? Oh, but look. There's still one word with the power that aches."

"The naming won't work on me." The Doctor warned her.

"But your heart grows cold. You wait the time when she'll remember," Lilith continued, which threw Ember off: that wasn't what she was supposed to say. "Afraid you'll lose your precious... Ember?"

It happened in an instant. Ember felt all the air leave her like she'd been sucker punched, driving her to her knees.

"Ember!" The Doctor called, going to her side. "Hang on!"

"I'm fine," the brunette gasped out, pressing a hand to her chest. "Watch out for her..."

"Interesting. She resists my charm," Lilith said. "She's something new, and yet... she smells of ancient power. It's almost... familiar..."

The Doctor stood and turned to Lilith, walking right up to her. The move drew her attention to him, whereas before it had been on Ember with a thoughtful expression. "Oh, that was a big mistake. Because that name keeps me fighting! The Carrionites vanished. Where did you go?"

Lilith turned and walked away, towards the cauldron. "The Eternals found the right word to banish us into deep darkness."

"And how did you escape?"

"New words. New and glittering, from a mind like no other."

"Shakespeare."

Lilith pointedly looked into the cauldron, prompting him to do the same. They saw a hazy image of a heartbroken Shakespeare in the surface. "His son perished. The grief of a genius. Grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance."

Ember swallowed hard. The pain was ebbing away, allowing her to breathe properly again. It wouldn't be long until she could stand.

"How many of you?" The Doctor asked.

"Just the three. But the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged as pestilence. And from this world we will lead the universe back into the old ways of blood and magic."

"Hmm. Busy schedule." The Doctor said casually, walking up to the woman again. "But first... you've got to get past me."

"Oh, that should be a pleasure, considering my enemy has such a..." Lilith got in close and raised a hand, gently tracing his face, "handsome shape."

"Now, that's one form of magic that's definitely not going to work on me."

"Oh, we'll see."

A quick snip, and she backed off, now holding a small clump of brown hair.

The Doctor reached up to feel where he'd felt the tug. "What did you do?"

"Souvenir."

"Well, give it back!" The Doctor tried to run to her, the Lilith simply flew back, right out of the windows behind her, where she hovered out of his reach. "Well, that's just cheating."

"Behold, Doctor. Men to Carrionites are nothing but puppets!" Lilith produced a small doll made of straw, proceeding to tie the hair she'd taken around it.

Ember looked to her left to see Martha stirring, but neither of them would make it up before the witch struck.

"Now, you might call that magic." The Doctor said. "I'd call that a DNA replication module."

"What use is your science now?" Lilith asked before she took a pin and stabbed the doll. Instantly, the Doctor felt the pain and collapsed with a cry.

Ember felt that instinct inside her rise up with rage at the sight of the Doctor falling. She knew that he was fine, but that didn't stop the anger at the fact that this witch had hurt him. The silver in her eyes bled out to cover her sclera, just in time for Martha to see it.

Then, the tiny flames that were on the candles around the room suddenly erupted upwards, twisting and combining in the air to make one massive flame and shoot out of the window. Lilith barely managed to dodge the flames, looking very surprised by the sudden aggression. The flames turned up to disperse in the sky, though one unfortunate tree did catch fire.

"What...?" Lilith said, looking back into the room. At the sight of Ember struggling to her feet, teeth bared and eyes like pools of liquid silver, the witch's own eyes widened. "How did you...?"

"Piss off!" Ember snapped at her. Even Martha was surprised not only by the vulgar language but also the tone; it was almost more like a snarl than words. "Or I will burn you to ash!"

Lilith could tell that she meant it; the few candles that were still lit were melting fast under the intensity of the fire. The witch took off, disappearing into the sky as the windows closed.

"Ember?" Martha asked.

The brunette shook her head, blinking hard, "Wha...?" Her eyes returned to normal as she looked around. She was about to say something when she saw the Doctor still lying on the floor. "Doctor!"

Martha wanted to question what she'd just seen, but the urgency of the Doctor's condition trumped her curiousity. "Oh my God, Doctor!" She helped Ember roll the Doctor onto his back. "Don't worry, we've got you." She went to listen to his chest, then an idea came to her. "Hold on, mister. Two hearts?"

The Doctor smirked. "You're making a habit of this." He quickly rolled over and got up, only to drop back to a knee with a grunt, Martha barely catching him. "I've only got one heart working! How do you people cope? I've got to get the other one started. Hit me! Hit me on the chest!"

Martha balled her fist and thumped him on the chest.

"Gah! Other side!" The Doctor yelped. Ember took the chance and did it herself, thumping him hard over his left heart, making him double over. "Now, on the back, on the back!" Another thump, this time to the left side of his back, and then he straightened up and cracked his neck. "Gah, lovely! There we go. Badda booma!" He jumped to his feet and looked at the ladies. "Well, what are you standing there for? Come on! The Globe!"

Martha looked at Ember. "What was that just now? That fire..."

"Sometimes I go overboard: just look at my jacket," Ember said, turning to follow the Doctor. "But we need to talk about this later, Doctor!"

"Yes, later, fine, but now we need to go! Come on!"

The trio ran down the stairs and out of the house, intent on getting back to the theatre. Except...

"We're going the wrong way!" Martha yelled.

"No, we're not!" The Doctor said... only to stop and turn around. "We're going the wrong way!"

They turned the last corner, faltering when they saw that a massive red cloud was now hanging over the Globe Theatre. A strong wind was blowing, like a tornado was building.

"I told thee so!" The preacher from earlier was yelling. "I told thee!"

Ember felt another shiver go through her at the sight of the red cloud. Something was nagging at her. "Doctor... this doesn't feel right..."

"Whatever that is, it's messing with the elements," the Doctor quickly explained, taking her hand and pulling with him to the back door of the building. "Stage door!"

They ran into the building's backstage area, to find Shakespeare just coming to, running his head.

"Stop the play." The Doctor said. "I think that was it. Yeah, I said, stop the play!"

"I hit my head." The bard mumbled.

"Yeah, don't rub it, you'll go bald." A scream came from the stage. "I think that's my cue!"

Martha grabbed Shakespeare, pulling him with her after the Doctor. Ember made to follow, but then her head throbbed and everything went white...

_The Carrionites had been summoned, the humans were screaming in terror. The Doctor tried to get Shakespeare to help, but there wasn't enough time, as the creatures began to attack the people..._

Ember shook her head to clear it, running out onto the stage after the others. She looked up at what looked like a tornado above them, wind and thunder cracking as the trapped audience screamed in fear.

Lilith, who was in one of the upper booths, saw them and frowned. "The Doctor. He lives. Then watch this world become a blasted heath! They come. They come!"

The tornado-like portal above them turned blood red, and forms could be seen swirling about; the other Carrionites in their true forms.

"Doctor, it's too soon!" Ember yelled over the wind. "You need more time!"

The Doctor looked at her. "What for?"

"To improvise!" Ember narrowed her eyes, moving to the front of the stage and spreading her arms out. It was tough to do it with the distance and the wind, but she concentrated hard, and the flames that were in lamps around the theatre shot up and extended. A Carrionite that had split off from the group to attack the helpless people below shrieked as the flames shot between it and its prey, herding it back to rejoin its group.

"What can you do?" Lilith called, somehow able to be heard in the chaos. "Even if you can call upon fire, there's only one of you: how do you hope to take all of us?"

"I don't have to!" Ember yelled back, feeling herself sweat under the strain. "I'm not the one with the words!"

The Doctor, who'd heard the hint, turned and grabbed Shakespeare. "Come on, Will! History needs you!"

"But what can I do?" The bard said, confused.

"Reverse it!"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"The shape of the Globe gives words power, but you're the wordsmith, the one true genius. The only man clever enough to do it!"

Shakespeare shook his head. "But what words? I have none ready!"

"You're William Shakespeare!"

"Need to hurry!" Ember called, sending another plume of fire to keep a Carrionite from attacking one of the balconies. "I don't know how long I can hold them back!"

"But these Carrionite phrases, the need such precision!" Shakespeare argued.

The Doctor leaned close. "Trust yourself. When you're locked away in your room, the words just come, don't they, like magic. Words of the right sound, the right shape, the right rhythm. Words that last forever! That's what you do, Will. You choose perfect words. Do it. Improvise!"

Ember flinched as her head gave a throb of warning that she was pushing herself, like she had in the Library. What she didn't notice was an extra gust of wind blow by, since it was already so windy in the theatre.

Lilith did notice, and her eyes widened. "It can't be... they live?!"

Shakespeare, who'd looked thoughtful, then spoke up in a raised voice. "Close up this din of hateful, dire decay, decomposition of your witches' plot! You thieve my brains, consider me your toy! My doting Doctor tells me I am not!"

"No! Words of power!"

Ember saw a Carrionite coming right at them and threw out her hand, making fire appear from in front of her to shoot right in the creature's face, making it change course with a screech.

"Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show! Between the points..." Shakespeare continued, only to trail off and look at the Doctor for help.

"Seven six one three nine oh!"

"Seven six one three nine oh! Banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee..." the bard looked again for the words.

The Doctor hesitated, looking at Martha, who shouted the first thing that came to her head. "Expelliarmus!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Expelliarmus!" Shakespeare shouted, joined by the actors on the stage.

"Good old JK!" The Doctor cheered.

The tornado seemed to suddenly go in reverse, pulling the Carrionites in rather than letting them out. The three on the balcony above screamed.

"The deep darkness! They are consumed!" Lilith screamed. "No!"

The wind picked up as Ember let the flames return to normal, though the Doctor was quick to go to her side and steady her as she stumbled. The doors behind them burst open, allowing sheets of paper to billow out and get sucked into the tornado.

"Love's Labours Won." The Doctor said. "There it goes."

Ember kept her eyes on the sky as the tornado shrank until it vanished with a flash and a bang. In the sudden quiet, no one spoke, but then someone began to clap. They were joined by others, and it was only a matter seconds before everyone in the audience was clapping and cheering. The brunette let the Doctor guide her off the stage to to around to the balcony, where they were quick to find the crystal ball that Lilith had been holding, sitting innocently on the railing.

The Doctor took the ball and looked at it, seeing the three Carrionites screaming and scratching at him from inside the sphere. Ember moved to look as well, smirking when the witches suddenly backed off, looking at her in fear.

Then she frowned, turning to the Doctor. "We need to talk."

"Later."

* * *

After checking for any remaining traces of the lost play, the Doctor and Ember were in one of the large storage rooms that were used to keep props.

"They recognised me." Ember said, finally breaking the silence.

The Doctor glanced at her. "Who did?"

"The Carrionites. Or Lilith, at least. When she tried to kill me at the house, it intrigued her that I resisted. And when she saw me use fire at the theatre, she said 'it can't be', and then after that 'they live'. She knew something." Ember turned to face him fully. "I've been told on more than one occasion that I was ancient, or smelled it. If that's true, then whatever I am is so old that the Carrionites knew about it."

The Doctor sighed, moving to sit on a worn chest. "There's stories of so many races that existed at the same time that the Carrionites did. There's not many of them that have been proven to be real." He looked at the brunette and knew from her expression that she wasn't going to settle for that. "Alright, yes. The other part of you, the bit that isn't Time Lord, is probably the oldest known race in creation, as old as time itself, some say. And, obviously, they did in fact exist."

"Do they exist now? Or am I the only one, like you?"

"I honestly don't know. And there isn't a solid way to find out, either."

"So you know what I am, who I was?"

"... yes, I know what you are. But it hasn't been all that long since I found out, and you did at the same time."

Ember filed that information away for later. "When she named me, she said 'you wait the time when she'll remember' and then about losing me. What did that mean?"

The Doctor hesitated, and then sighed again. "As you know, you've forgotten your past. But you'll eventually remember: You'll remember who you were and how you came to be what you are now."

"And the bit about losing me?"

"There's... a chance, that when you remember everything, you'll no longer be... well, you. Memories define who we are. You're Ember, but when you finally get your memories back..."

"I might stop being me, and be who I was before all of this." Ember finished. "But who is that? Who was I? Why did I forget? Was I good, was I evil? For all I know, the whole reason I forgot was because I was some... evil tyrant that had to be stopped..."

The Doctor shook his head. "Now, I don't think that's true."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because if you were, I think we'd have seen a sign by now. So far, all I've seen is this caring, wonderful woman who's trying to find answers about herself, all the while doing what's right and helping people."

Ember blushed lightly at that, looking away. "So... I find out what happened?"

"In time, yes. Though at this point, it's still a mystery as to why you jump around my timeline specifically, and how or why you came to be what you are now. But I promise, I'll be there every step of the way. You won't be alone."

"... thanks." The brunette sighed, picking up what looked like the skull of a bull or other large animal. "I guess I'll just have to wait for those answers."

The Doctor moved, getting up to go to her side and taking her hand. "For what it's worth, I knew you'll be okay. I've seen it."

Ember nodded, though she wasn't quite convinced: Lilith's words had definitely made her think. Not to mention the popular phrase the Doctor used: time can be rewritten. When everything was revealed... would she still be Ember?

What she didn't notice was that the Doctor descreetly sighed in relief, as though he'd just dodged a rather large bullet...

The two of them went back to their search, finding a ruff that the Doctor put on with a grin, and then they made their way back to the stage where Martha and Shakespeare were sat on the edge talking.

"Good props store back there." The Doctor said, taking the skull from Ember and looking at it. "I'm not sure about this though. Reminds me of a Sycorax."

"Sycorax. Nice word." Shakespeare said. "I'll have that off you as well."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I should be on ten percent. How's your head?"

"Still aching."

"Here, I got you this." The Time Lord took off the ruff and put it Shakespeare's neck. "Neck brace. Wear that for a few days till it's better, although you might want to keep it. It suits you."

Martha smiled, recognising the accessory. "What about the play?"

"Gone. We looked all over. Every single copy of Love's Labours Won went up in the sky."

"As it should," Ember added.

Shakespeare looked thoughtful. "My lost masterpiece."

"You could write it up again." Martha suggested.

"Yeah, better not, Will." The Doctor said. "There's still power in those words. Maybe it should best stay forgotten."

"Oh, but I've got new ideas. Perhaps it's time I wrote about fathers and sons, in memory of my boy, my precious Hamnet."

That made Martha pause. "Hamnet?"

"That's him."

"Ham_net_?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Anyway, time we were off." The Doctor said before an argument would start. He picked up the crystal ball that he'd left with the human. "I've got a nice attic in the Tardis where this lot can scream for all eternity..."

Ember leaned over to glare at the screeching witches inside. "Oh, shut up!"

Instantly, they quieted and backed off. She felt another pang of satisfaction at the sight of them cowering from her, though it did have a sliver of concern to it...

The Doctor moved the ball away from her, pulling her from her thoughts. "And we've got to take Martha back to Freedonia."

"You mean travel on through time and space." Shakespeare said.

"You what?"

"You and Ember are from another world like the Carrionites, and Martha is from the future. It's not hard to work out."

The Doctor smiled. "That's incredible. You are incredible."

"We're alike in many ways, Doctor." The bard turned to only other human there. "Martha, let me say goodbye to you in a new verse. A sonnet for my Dark Lady. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate..."

Suddenly there was a clatter as the two actors ran in. "Will!"

"Will, you'll never believe it. She's here! She's turned up!"

"We're the talk of the town. She heard about last night. She wants us to perform it again!"

"Who?" Martha asked.

"Her Majesty. She's here!"

Then there was loud fanfare, and in came a shocker; an elderly Queen Elizabeth, flanked by two pikemen.

"Queen Elizabeth the First!" The Doctor said with a grin.

"Doctor?" The Queen looked at him.

That made the Doctor pause; he was sure he hadn't met her before. "What?"

"My sworn enemy!"

"What?"

"Off with his head!"

"What?!"

"Never mind what, just run!" Martha jumped up as the Time Lords turned and ran. "See you, Will, and thanks!"

"Stop that pernicious Doctor!"

The trio hightailed it out of the theatre and down the streets, dodging people while pursued by the pikemen. "Stop in the name of the Queen!"

They quickly made their way to the Tardis, where the Doctor was quick to unlock the door.

"What have you done to upset her?" Martha asked.

"How should I know? Haven't even met her yet. That's time travel for you. Still, can't wait to find out!" He looked back as the two women entered the Tardis. "That's something to look forward to. Ooo!"

He dashed inside and closed the door, just in time to avoid getting hit by an arrow, which got stuck in the door.

Ember was about to make a snarky comment when she felt a familiar burning sensation build up in her chest. "Looks like I'm off. I'll see you later!"

She vanished before she heard a reply.

* * *

Ok, and there we go! More clues to Ember's origins, and she got to face off against the witches! And there's another hint towards when she'll find out what she is.

Hope you guys have a Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, or whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year!

Next Time: Ember gets a chance to try out her powers over Earth, but will she be able to stop a major plot development from happening? Or will she be forced to let it go? Stay tuned!


	16. Chapter Sixteen: The Hungry Earth

Hiya! Hope you all had a nice holiday this week! And I've got a two parter here for you!

As for part two, I'll be aiming to get it up by New Year's Day, or the day after. So Wednesday or Thursday is my target.

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: The Hungry Earth

* * *

Ember's next destination was what looked like a graveyard, next to a church. No one seemed to be around, but that wasn't a surprise: who'd want to hang around in a graveyard, and one that was cold?

No, wait... something was wrong. She couldn't quite tell what, but something felt... off. It was cold, but not just because of the weather...

She was trying to figure out what it was when she heard a sound that made her smile: the wheezing that always announced the arrival of the Tardis. She turned to see the blue box fade into existence a few feet away, and then the door opened.

"Behold, Rio!" The Eleventh Doctor said loudly before he spotted the brunette. "Ember! Hello!"

"Hi, guys." Ember replied, seeing Rory and Amy in front of the Doctor. "Yeah, it's not Rio, by the way."

Amy looked around. "Nah."

"Not really getting the sunshine carnival vibe." Rory added as he and Amy moved away from the door to let the Time Lord out.

"No? Ooo, feel that, though. What's that?" The Doctor moved a few steps forward to reach Ember's side before he began to jump up and down on the spot. "Ground feels strange..."

Ember blinked, looking down before she knelt and put her hand on the concrete under her feet. She closed her eyes, using the meditation technique to focus and reach out. Like before when she'd done this the first time, she could feel the very earth moving, but there was something else as well. Something that was... affecting it? Manipulating it? Whatever it was, it wasn't completely natural.

The Doctor bent his knees and squat beside her. "What can you feel?"

"There's been a change," Ember said after a moment. "It wasn't natural, but it's triggered a reaction that feels natural, I think."

"Hmm," The Doctor nodded, though she didn't see it since her eyes were closed, but then his own eye caught something. "Wait. That's weird."

"What's weird?" Rory asked, looking around. He wore dark pants, a checkered shirt and a brown body warmer.

Amy rolled her eyes as they followed the Doctor around the Tardis and around the front of the church. "Doctor, stop trying to distract us! We're in the wrong place. Doctor, it's freezing and I've dressed for Rio." She was wearing black shorts, a red vest and a brown leather jacket. "We are not stopping here. Doctor. You listening to me? It's a graveyard. You promised me a beach."

The Doctor either hadn't heard or was ignoring her, now knelt in front of a patch of grass that should have been green, but was in fact a torquise colour. He plucked a few strands as Ember reached his side. "Blue grass." He glanced around to see more patches scattered randomly around the headstones. "Patches of it all around the graveyard. So, Earth, 2020-ish, ten years in your future, wrong continent for Rio, I'll admit, but it's not a massive overshoot."

"Why are those people waving at us?" AMy suddenly said. She'd spotted two people standing on the other side of the valley, just within view to see them each waving an arm.

"Can't be..." the Doctor murmured, standing up. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of binoculars, which he looked through. "It is. It's you two!"

Ember took the binoculars to look for herself as Rory spoke. "No, we're here. How can we be up there?"

"Ten years in your future. Come to relive past glories, I'd imagine. Humans, you're so nostalgic!"

Amy tilted her head in thought. "We're still together in ten years?"

"No need to sound so surprised." Rory said with a laugh, though it was slightly tense.

"Hey, let's go and talk to them. We can say hi to future us. How cool is that?"

That made Ember shiver, and the Doctor was close enough to feel it. "Er, no, best not. Really best not."

The brunette couldn't help but agree. She didn't want to have another encounter with the Reapers.

"These things get complicated very quickly, and oh look!" The Doctor looked out at the valley, spotting a mining rig within running distance. "Big mining thing! Oh, I love a big mining thing. See, way better than Rio. Rio doesn't have a big mining thing."

"We're not going to have a look, are we?" AMy asked, but the Doctor was already running toward the rig, grabbing Ember's hand and pulling her with him.

"Let's go and have a look! Come on, you two, let's see what they're doing!"

Ember laughed as he pulled her along. "You know that curiosity killed the cat, you know."

The Doctor turned to wink at her as he ran. "But satisfaction brought it back, didn't it?"

"Not always."

They were already at the gates when Amy caught up to them, without Rory. When the Doctor asked her where the soon to be groom was, she'd only said that he was coming. Ember nodded, though she knew he wouldn't catch up to them until later.  
The Doctor didn't feel the need to press, instead turning his attention to the bolt lock on the gate. "Restricted access. No unauthorised personnel. Hmm..."

With a flick of his Sonic, he opened the lock.

"That is breaking and entering." Amy pointed out.

"What did I break?" The Doctor countered. "Sonicking and entering. Totally different."

Amy smiled and shook her head. "Come on, then."

The Doctor looked at Ember as the redhead pushed past them. "You're sure Rory'll catch us up?"

"He'll be doing some investigating of his own first, but yes."

The Doctor nodded, taking her hand again and catching up to Amy in a corridor. "What about now? Can you feel it now?"

"Honestly, I've got no idea what you're on about." Amy replied.

"The ground doesn't feel like it should."

"It's ten years in the future. Maybe now this ground feels is how it always feels."

The Doctor felt Ember squeeze his hand twice as they heard a beeping sound. "Good thought, but no, it doesn't. Hear that? A drill in start-up mode. Afterwaves of a recent seismological shift and blue grass."

Ember saw him hold up a small handful of the blue grass he'd plucked. "No, you don't need to-"

She was too late: the Doctor put the grass in his mouth, only to spit it back out and pull a face.

"Oh, please!" Amy said, pulling a face herself despite a laugh coming out. "Have you always been this disgusting?"

"No, that's recent." The Doctor wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"Liar," Ember retorted, pulling out her little bag of sweets and opening it, offering it to him. "These are blue, but at least they taste good."

The Doctor smiled as he took a sweet from the bag before he took the lead, going to a door and opening it. "What's in here? Hello!"

The ladies followed him into what looked like a large storeroom with lots of equipment, including a forklift truck and scanning equipment, and an Indian woman who looked surprised to see them.

"Who are you? What're you doing here?" She demanded, and then she saw Amy's attire. "And what're you wearing?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "I dressed for Rio."

The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper. "Ministry of Drills, Earth and Science. New Ministry, quite big, just merged. It's lot of responsibility on our shoulders. Don't like to talk about it. What are you doing?"

"None of your business!" The woman said.

"Where are you getting these readings from?" He asked as he took a quick look at the readings from a scanner that was placed in a large hole in the concrete.

The woman, seeing that she wasn't going to be rid of them anytime soon, answered as she moved to pull the scanner out. "Under the soil."

"The drill's up and running again." A male voice said as an older man in a red coat walked in, pausing when he saw the new arrivals. "What's going on? Who are these people?"

"Amy, the Doctor, Ember." Amy said, pointing to each person as she said the names. "We're not staying, are we, Doctor?"

"Why's there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?" The Doctor asked, pointing at the patch in question: it looked like someone had broken through the concrete and left a hole in the dirt below. Though he didn't seem to acknowledge Amy's question, she knew what the answer was now.

The woman looked at him. "We don't know. It just appeared overnight."

Ember shook her head, moving to kneel on the ground and placing her hands on the concrete next to the exposed soil. She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to ignore the vibrations from the drill, only to pause when she sensed vibrations from somewhere else. Somewhere below, something that was churning the earth like it could be commanded, which didn't really sit well in her mind.

No one should have such command over nature like... what? Like her?

The Doctor was watching Ember's face carefully, noticing the way her brows twitched just slightly. He knew from experience that it wasn't a good sign, so he moved to the scanner screen again. "Good. Right. You all need to get out of here very fast."

"Why?" The woman asked, making him turn to look at her.

"What's your name?"

"Nasreen Chaudhry. And that's Tony Mack."

"Look at the screens, Nasreen." He gestured. "Look at your readings. It's moving."

Tony frowned as the Doctor moved to examine the equipment. "Hey, that's specialised equipment! Get away from it!"

Amy crouched beside Ember, noticing her frowning. "Ember, what's wrong?"

"They shouldn't mess around with it..." the brunette murmured, though it wasn't clear if she was talking to Amy or herself. Her eyes remained closed.

"Mess around with what? Who shouldn't?"

"It'll get angry..."

"What will get angry? Doctor..." the redhead was about to tell him about Ember's behaviour when she noticed something else: smoke rising from the exposed soil like low fog. "...this steam, is that a good thing?"

The Doctor looked back at them, seeing the same thing. "Shouldn't think so. It's shifting when it shouldn't be shifting."

"What shouldn't?" Nasreen asked, not getting it.

There was a low rumble, and Ember flinched, though no one noticed because of the ground shaking.

"The ground, the soil, the earth, moving." The Doctor replied. "But how? Why?"

"Earthquake?" Amy suggested.

Tony shook his head. "What's going on?"

"Doubt it, because it's only happening under this room." The Doctor ignored the man.

Two more holes suddenly appeared on the floor, one next to the Doctor and the other next to Amy. Ember didn't acknowledge them, still kneeling with her eyes closed, even as three more holes appeared.

The Doctor pulled her up, breaking her concentration. "It knows we're here. It's attacking. The ground's attacking us."

Nasreen shook her head. "No, no that's not possible."

"Under the circumstances, I'd suggest... run!" The Doctor moved, pulling Ember with him as the others followed. More holes appeared, as though to give chase, and one of them right under Tony's foot, pulling him down.

"Tony!" Nasreen cried.

"Stay back, Amy!" The Doctor called as Amy moved to help the man. "Stay away from the earth!"

"It's okay!" The redhead didn't listen, jumping over one hole to help Tony. Ember felt the shift just before another hole opened under Amy's feet, pulling her in. "It's pulling me down!"

"Amy!"

"Doctor, help me! Something's got me!" The soil reached her knees in moments.

Ember moved to help, but the Doctor pulled her back. "Stay away from it!"

"Doctor, the ground's got my legs!" Amy cried as she was pulled down, the soil up to her hips now.

"I've got you!" The Doctor ran over and grabbed her arms.

"Okay, don't let go!"

"Never!"

"Doctor, what is it, and why is it doing this?"

Ember held out her hand and concentrated, trying to stop the earth from swallowing their friend, but it was too soon. She could only sense the earth churning; she couldn't get enough control to stop it.

"Stay calm. Keep hold of my hand! Don't let go!" The Doctor looked over at Nasreen and Tony, the latter having been freed from the soil by the former. "Your drill, shut it down. Go, now!"

"Can you get me out?" Amy asked, the soil up to her chest now as the other two humans ran from the room.

The Doctor didn't answer that right away, too busy trying to pull her out. "Amy, try and stay calm. If you struggle, it'll make things worse. Keep hold of my hand!"

Ember tried harder, mentally telling the earth to _stop pulling_, to _let go_ of the human. She felt the strength behind the pull lessen just slightly, but not enough to free Amy.

The Doctor saw cracks appear in the concrete ground, but he couldn't turn to look at Ember without losing his grip on Amy. "I'm not going to let you go."

The ground suddenly shook, making them lose their grip.

"Doctor, it's pulling me down!" Amy cried, trying to grab something to stop her from sinking further. She was in the ground up to her chest now. "Something's pulling me!"

"Stay calm!" The Doctor moved back to holding her hands, trying to keep her from going any further down. "Now, hold on till they can just shut down the drill!"

"I can't hold on!"

Ember felt pain go through her head, forcing her to her knees, but she didn't give up. The drilling had stopped at last: She had to keep trying!

"Ember!" Amy's call made her open her eyes to look at the redhead. "What's pulling me? What is under the earth? I don't want to suffocate under there!"

"You won't!" Ember said. "There's air down there!"

"Amy, concentrate!" The Doctor tried to keep her fighting. "Don't you give up!"

"Tell Rory..." however that request was going to end was left unknown, as the soil reached her chin. They all knew it; she wasn't getting out.

"No. Amy! Amy, no!" The Doctor refused to accept it, even as the redhead finally disappeared under the soil. He still tried to dig at the ground in a vain attempt to save her, even resorting to using his Sonic, but to no avail. "No! No! No! No! No!"

Ember took a breath, putting her hand on the ground and concentrating. She could just about feel the earth beneath moving in an unnatural way, pulling its 'prey' down. "She's fine, Doctor. No point in a dead hostage."

That made the Doctor turn to look at her, moving to kneel in front of her. "Any hints?"

"It's not malicious intent. Their reasons are warranted, but they're angry and scared."

Nodding, the Doctor pulled her into a hug, gently rubbing her back. He used the physical contact to gently soothe the pain in her head, though he needn't have bothered; she was already recovering. He looked at the new cracks in the concrete that had appeared after the drilling had stopped, knowing that it was the brunette in his arms that caused them.

Nasreen and Tony returned, having been able to stop the drill. "Where is she?"

"She's gone. The ground took her." The Doctor said, standing up and pacing around the holes once he was sure that Ember was alright.

"Is that happened to Mo?" Tony asked. "Are they dead?"

"No." Ember didn't open her eyes, though she could no longer feel the earth beneath them being manipulated. That meant that Amy had probably reached the undercity by now. "They're not dead."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "It's not quicksand. She didn't just sink. Something pulled her in. It wanted her."

"The ground wanted her?" Nasreen repeated, puzzled.

"You said the ground was dormant. Just a patch of earth, when you first saw it this morning. And the drill had been stopped."

Tony nodded. "That's right."

"But when you re-started the drill, the ground fought back."

"So what, the ground wants to stop us drilling?" Nasreen looked exasperated as the Doctor moved to scan the exposed soil with the Sonic again. "Doctor, that is ridiculous."

"I'm not saying that, and it's not ridiculous, I just don't think it's right."

Ember finally stood up, looking at them. "It wouldn't do that on its own. Someone manipulated it."

"Oh, of course!" The Doctor said. "It's bio-programming!"

Now Nasreen looked part confused, part curious. "What?"

"Bio-programming. Oh, it's clever. You use bio-signals to resonate the internal molecular structure of natural objects. It's mainly used in engineering and construction, mostly jungle planets, but that's way in the future and not here. What's it doing here?"

"Sorry, did you just say jungle planets?"

Tony shook his head. "You're not making any sense, man!"

That made the Doctor look at him incredulously. "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense! You're just not keeping up. The earth, the ground beneath our feet, was bio-programmed to attack."

"Yeah, even if that were possible, which, by the way, it's not," Nasreen added, "why?"

"It attacked when you had the drill going." Ember said. "And when did it stop?"

The Doctor caught on instantly. "When you stopped drilling. Okay, so we find whatever's doing the bio-programming, we can find Amy. We can get her back." He suddenly paused. "Shush, shush, shush. Have I gone mad? I've gone mad."

Nasreen sighed. "Doctor..."

"Shush, shush! Silence. Absolute silence." The Doctor listened for a moment. "You've stopped the drill, right?"

"Yes."

"And you've only got the one drill?"

"Yes."

"You're sure about that?"

"Yes!" Tony said.

The Doctor moved to the side of the hole that had taken Amy and got down to put his ear against the floor, shifting slightly to give Ember room to kneel beside him, though she put her hand on the ground instead of her ear. "So, if you shut the drill down... why can I still hear drilling?"

"They only have one drill," Ember said as Nasreen and Tony leaned over to listen as well. "But it's not the only thing that's going."

"It's under the ground."

Tony shook his head again. "That's not possible."

The Doctor ignored him, jumping to his feet and running over to the computers, using his Sonic on them.

"Oh no, what, what are you doing?" Nasreen asked, obviously not happy with some stranger messing with her equipment.

"Hacking into your records. Probe reports, samples, sensors. Good. Just unite the data, make it all one big conversation." The Doctor replied quickly as he did just as he said. The humans watched in amazement as the readings on the screen changed to show multiple results, including the depth of the drill. "Let's have a look. So, we are here and this is your drill hole. Twenty one point zero zero nine kilometres. Well done."

"...Thank you. It's taken us a long time."

"Why here, though? Why'd you drill on this site?"

"We found patches of grass in this area, containing trace minerals unseen in this country for twenty million years."

Ember turned to look at them once she stood up. "They didn't see the warning for what it was."

"The blue grass?" The Doctor glanced at her for confirmation before he looked at Nasreen again. "Oh, Nasreen. Those trace minerals weren't X marking the spot, saying 'dig here'. They were a warning. 'Stay away'. Because while you've been drilling down, somebody else has been drilling up."

There was a beep from the computer, drawing them in to look at the screen as it displayed the results of the sensors. Ember moved to peek between the shoulders of Nasreen and the Doctor, feeling the latter take her hand.

"Oh, beautiful." The Doctor said, seeing a new thing appear in the screen; it looked like cracks or lines, but he knew better. "Network of tunnels all the way down."

"No, no, we've surveyed that area." Tony argued, looking at it himself.

"You wanted to see dirt; you saw dirt." Ember said.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "You only saw what you went looking for."

"What are they?" Nasreen asked, eyeing the screen where three dots were moving up one of the lines.

"Heat signals. Wait, dual readings, hot and cold, doesn't make sense. And now they're moving. Fast. How many people live nearby?"

Tony answered him. "Just my daughter and her family. The rest of the staff travel in."

"Grab this equipment and follow me."

Nasreen turned as the Doctor made his way to the door. "Why? What're we doing?"

"That noise isn't a drill: it's transport. Three of them, thirty kilometres down. Rate of speed looks about a hundred and fifty kilometres an hour. Should be here in ooo, quite soon. Twelve minutes. Whatever bio-programmed the Earth is on its way up, now." The Doctor moved back to the scanners and picked one of them up, pulling Ember with him as he went to the door. He waited until they were already halfway back to the top of the hill before he addressed her. "How bad will this get?"

"Very." Ember replied. "There's going to be a test of humanity, and everyone is going to lose something by the end of it."

The Doctor didn't like the sound of that, but he was unable to really think on it as Tony caught up to them, him and Nasreen carrying the remaining scanning equipment as they quickly made their way back to the church.

"How can something be coming up when there's only the Earth's crust down there?" He asked.

"You saw the readings."

Nasreen was close behind. "Who are you, anyway? How can you know all this?" There was no answer, as they were suddenly interrupted by what looked like red lightning in the sky. It vanished a moment later. "Whoa, did you see that?"

"No, no, no." The Doctor muttered, recognising the light. He left the equipment he was carrying to run up the last bit of the hill that turned into a quiet street, where he pulled a small slingshot from his jacket just as Ember handed him a small rock. Using the slingshot, he fired the stone into the sky, only for it to hit a wall that briefly flashed red before seemingly vanishing again. He then took out his Sonic to make the red energy appear again, revealing it to be a dome covering the area. "Energy signal originating from under the Earth. We're trapped."

"Doctor!" Everyone but the Doctor turned at the shout to see Rory running up to them with a short woman and a young boy. "Something weird's going on here, the graves are eating people."

"Not now, Rory. Energy barricade, invisible to the naked eye. We can't get out and no one from the outside world can get in."

"What? Okay, what about the Tardis?"

Nasreen blinked. "The what?"

The Doctor ignored her. "Er, no. Those energy patterns would play havoc with the circuits. With a bit of time, maybe, but we've only got nine and a half minutes."

"Nine and a half minutes to what?" Rory asked, having no knowledge of the earlier discussion, as the Doctor allowed the forcefield to disappear again.

Nasreen was quick to explain, though it seemed like it was more to the woman and boy than anyone else. "We're trapped, and something's burrowing towards the surface."

Rory looked around, realising someone was missing. "Where's Amy?"

"Get everyone inside the church." The Doctor said as he turned to grab the equipment. "Rory, I'll get her back."

"What do you mean, get her back? Where's she gone?"

"She was taken. Into the Earth."

"How? Why didn't you stop it?"

"I tried. I promise, I tried."

"Well, you should've tried harder!"

Ember moved to stand between the two men, facing Rory with narrowed eyes. "He _did_! I tried too, but I've only just started being able to control earth. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

Rory looked at her, obviously torn between anger and understanding. After a moment, he took a breath and nodded. "Alright. Sorry."

"I'll find Amy." The Doctor said, gently pulling Ember aside. "I'll keep you all safe, I promise. Come on, please. I need you alongside me."

"She's safe for now, Rory," Ember added. "That's _my_ promise."

After another moment, Rory nodded again, letting the Time Lords lead on.

The Doctor led them to the most fortifiable building in the area; the church, while the woman and boy were introduced as Ambrose and Elliot.

"Where's Mo?" Ambrose asked as Tony moved to door. "Is he with you?"

"This flaming door." The man muttered as the door got wedged. "Always sticking. I thought you were having it fixed."

"Dad!"

"Something's happened to him, hasn't it?" Elliot asked.

Ember turned to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "He's fine for now. We're here to help."

The door to the church was finally opened, and they piled in. Inside, it looked like the building was used for storage more than anything else, though there was still a stained glass window on the wall behind the altar. The Doctor got to work immediately, putting the equipment together.

"So we can't get out." Ambrose said, making sure she had it right. "We can't contact anyone, and something, the something that took my husband, is coming up through the Earth."

"Yes." The Doctor replied. "If we move quickly enough, we can be ready."

"No, stop. This has gone far enough. What is this?"

Tony put his hand on her shoulder. "He's telling the truth, love."

"Come on! It's not the first time we've had no mobile or phone signals. Reception's always rubbish."

Nasreen turned to the woman next. "Look, Ambrose. We saw the Doctor's friend get taken, okay? You saw the lightning in the sky. I have seen the impossible today, and the only person who's made any sense of it for me, is the Doctor."

"Him?"

"Me." The Doctor said, shooting them a quick grin.

Elliot walked up to him. "Can you get my dad back?"

The Doctor glanced at Ember, who nodded, and then he looked at the boy again. He didn't need to look to know that almost everyone was looking at him. "Yes. But I need you to trust me and do exactly as I say from this second onwards, because we're running out of time."

"So tell us what to do." Ambrose said after a moment.

"Thank you. We have eight minutes to set up a line of defence. Bring me every phone, every camera, every piece of recording or transmitting equipment you can find. Every burglar alarm, every movement sensor, every security light. I want the whole area covered with sensors."

Ember decided to sit on the ground, one hand in her lap while the other was pressed against the floor, and closed her eyes.

Nearly three minutes later, the equipment was set up. Every screen was showing readings of anywhere above the ground, and any movement was going to be seen.

Ember probably would have been impressed with the speed, but she was too busy trying to get a better feel of the vibrations under the earth. She could feel that something was moving through the soil, but it was hard to pinpoint exactly where they'd pop up.

She'd been so focused that she jumped when someone's hand landed on her shoulder. It turned out to be the Doctor, who looked slightly sheepish.

"Sorry," he murmured. "Anything new?"

Ember sighed. "I can feel them, but I can't tell where they're going to break the surface. Like I said earlier, this is still new."

"How new?"

"This is the second time. I use it the first time in your future. Made rocks appear from the ground like teeth. The next jump landed me in space, so I couldn't try then. Then I met the Carrionites. Haven't had a chance to really try manipulating earth until now."

Nodding, the Doctor took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Maybe you should take a break? You've been trying since we got here, and I could use the company while I get some more stuff from the van I saw outside."

"Alright," Ember caved. She didn't want to admit it, but the harder she'd tried to focus, the more her head hurt. At her guess, it was because she was trying too hard.

The Doctor led her out of the church and to a small van that was marked 'Pen-Y-Fan', and he immediately dove into it to see what he could scavenge. Ember moved to lean against the front hood, and it wasn't long before Ambrose joined them, her arms full with something that made Ember bristle: several rifles, a cricket bat and a taser for good measure.

"Oi! What're you doing?" The woman called as she reached them.

"Resources!" The Doctor replied as he looked at the interior of the van before moving away. "Every little helps. Meals on wheels. What've you got here, then. Warmer in the front, refrigerated in the back."

Ambrose put her armful of weapons on the seat next to Ember, who frowned at them as she moved away. "Bit chilly for a hideout, mind."

"What are those?" The Doctor asked, having taken Ember's hand to gently pull her away from the weapons.

"Like you say, every little helps."

"No, no weapons. It's not the way we do things."

"You said we're supposed to be defending ourselves."

The Doctor looked at her. "Oh, Ambrose, you're better than this. I'm asking nicely. Put them away."

"Besides," Ember added, "what if you start shooting them and they decide that the ones they've captured aren't worth keeping?"

The woman looked at her for a moment. "What if they've already killed them?"

Ember met her gaze evenly. "I promise you they are alive. And even if they weren't, you shouldn't willingly stoop to their level. Killing is never a good thing to do, even it ends up being something you have to do."

The Doctor pulled the brunette to follow him as he walked away, feeling a pang in his hearts at her words. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

The two of them went back into the church, just in time for Elliot to run up to them with a hand drawn map of the area.

"Look at that!" The Doctor cheered, taking the paper. "Perfect. Dyslexia never stopped Da Vinci or Einstein. It's not stopping you."

"I don't understand what you're going to do." Elliot admitted.

"Two phase plan. First, the sensors and cameras will tell us when something arrives. Second, if something does arrive, I use this-" he pulled out the Sonic "-to send a sonic pulse through that network of devices. A pulse which would temporarily incapacitate most things in the universe."

"Knock 'em out. Cool."

The Doctor smiled as he moved to the other side of the equipment to make sure they were working. "Lovely place to grow up, round here."

Elliot shrugged. "Suppose. I want to live in a city one day. Soon as I'm old enough, I'll be off."

"I was the same where I grew up."

"Did you get away?"

"Yeah."

"Do you ever miss it?"

That made the Doctor pause, a hint of sadness in his eyes as he recalled his home. "So much."

Ember had that temptation again; to tell him that he hadn't destroyed his home planet. But she couldn't. It was too soon.

Elliot seemed to be smart enough to sense that it was tender subject, so he let it drop. "Is it monsters coming? Have you met monsters before?"

The Doctor, thankful for the change, moved back round to stand in front of the boy. "Yeah."

"You scared of them?"

"No, they're scared of me. Well, most of them are. Any of them that aren't scared of me are scared of her." The Doctor gestured to Ember, who shrugged.

"Will you really get my dad back?" Elliot asked.

"No question."

Nodding, Elliot stepped back. "I left my headphones at home."

Ember deliberated her next move for a moment before she turned to follow. "I'll go with you. Safer in numbers."

The Doctor completely missed the sign, too focused on the equipment.

Ember let Elliot lead the way to his home, only to pause as they noticed something.

"It's darker," Elliot said, looking up as it seemed to turn to night far too quickly to be natural. "But it's too early..."

Ember shook her head. "No, they're making it dark. Humans are scared in the dark. They're trying to get an advantage."

They ran the rest of the way to the home, which turned out to be a small bungalow, and then she waited outside while he went inside for his headphones.

It was then that she felt it. A low rumble beneath her feet, just prodding at the edge of her senses. She crouched low and put her hand on the ground, reaching out to try to sense if anything was near, but the vibrations were throwing her off.

The sound of the door closing made her stand up and greet Elliot, who'd returned with his headphones. "We need to move. They're almost here."

"Are they the monsters that are scared of you?" The boy asked, taking her hand to help keep them together as they walked.

Ember shook her head. "If you woke up one day and found strangers in your home, you'd assume they'd broken in, right? Well, what if it's not that simple: what if you've been sleeping for so long that no one knew you were there, and those strangers simply moved in to what they thought was a vacant home?"

Elliot looked at her. "So they were here first?"

"Yes. They're just scared, like you would be. Time moved on, and they've woken up to find that their world has changed. And they're afraid that humans won't let them stay here."

"... that's not fair. It's not their fault that they've been sleeping."

"No, it isn't." Ember paused when she felt another rumbling beneath them. It was so strong that even Elliot felt it, though it faded a few seconds later. "I don't think we're alone out here. Let's go."

They ran the rest of the way to the church, but when they got to the door, it wouldn't open. Ember cursed under her breath at forgetting that the door stuck.

Elliot was looking around when he caught a flash of movement in the dark. He didn't see any detail, but he knew that it wasn't good. He thumped his hand on the door. "Mum! Grandpa Tony! Let us in!"

"Elliot!" Ambrose cried from the other side of the door.

"Let us in!"

"He's out there. Help me!"

"Doctor!" Ember yelled at the door. "We're not alone out here!"

The Doctor's voice came a moment later. "Push, Ember! Push the door!"

Ember and Elliot pushed against the door, but it barely even budged. Something sped past again, and this time Ember was the one who saw it. She turned to face it head on, trying to find it in the shadows, when something rammed into her from the side, knocking the wind out of her as she hit the ground.

The thing that had tackled her barely let her take a breath before it grabbed her and hauled her up, dragging her away from the church despite her struggles.

"Mum! Hurry up!" Elliot screamed. "It's attacking her!"

Ember tried to fight it off, but a pair of lean arms pinned her own to her torso as she was dragged further away. "You really don't want to this! Let go!"

Something hissed at her ear, but she thankfully didn't feel a sting.

"Mum!" Suddenly Elliot went silent. Too silent. A quick reach out with her senses told her what she already knew: they'd taken him.

"Oi, Leave him alone!" Ember snapped, kicking out in vain. "He's just a kid! You've got me, let him go!"

Finally, she decided she had to do it. She concentrated and made flames erupt on the fabric covering the arms that pinned her. The thing didn't cry out, but it was quick to let go, though the brunette had made it so that it only burnt the fabric and not skin. By the time she turned around, it was gone.

"Mother of Elements..."

The words were hissed out, and Ember paused, looking around to try to find the speaker in the shadows. "So you know who I am..."

"Elliot!" Ambrose's voice was louder now, signalling that they'd finally gotten the door open, and then footsteps could be heard approaching in a run. "Elliot, it's Mum!"

Ember saw a flash of movement and realised that her would-be captor was going to make a dash for the distraught mother. "Look out!"

But Ambrose was caught off guard, the thing tackling her. She struggled madly. "Get off me!"

Ember pulled herself to her feet, somehow snagging the headphones that Elliot had dropped, and looked up in time for Tony to rush in, pulling the attacker off of Ambrose. Unfortunately, whatever stopped it from using its tongue on Ember didn't stop it from using it against the man, catching him on the neck before it ran away. Throughout the whole struggle, they were only able to get a glimpse of it: a reptilian biped with long limbs and large eyes.

"Dad!" Ambrose cried, running to her father.

The Doctor appeared in a moment, followed by Rory. "What happened?"

"My dad's hurt."

"Get him into the church now."

"Elliot's gone. They've killed him, haven't they?"

Ember stood up, walking to the woman and handing her the headphones. "No. They won't hurt him. He's a kid."

"They've taken three people when they could've just killed them up here." The Doctor added. "There's still hope, Ambrose. There is always hope."

"Then why have they taken him?"

"I don't know. We'll find Elliot, I promise. But first we've got to stop this attack. Please, get inside the church."

Ambrose looked like she wanted to argue, but thought twice. "Come on, Dad."

The Doctor turned to Ember as the father and daughter walked back to the church. Rory stayed with them. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." The brunette replied. "She didn't sting me. I burnt her sleeves."

"Why didn't it take you as well?" Rory asked, puzzled, and then another thought struck him. "Wait, did you say she?"

Ember shrugged. "Yep, it's a she. And I dunno why they didn't take me the same way. But from what I gathered, she either didn't want to hurt me, or she was ordered not to." She turned to face the other Time Lord. "Doctor, she called me Mother of Elements."

"That means they know who you are..."

"So what now?" Rory asked.

"They have one of us. We need to even the playing field."

* * *

In no time, the Doctor was looking around the graveyard with what looked like normal sunglasses but were in fact infra red, trying to find any sign of the attackers. Ember was by his side, while Rory was hiding in the van.

"Cold blood." The Doctor murmured, spotting a dark shake moving through the bushes. "I know who they are."

Taking Ember's hand, he led them to the side of the van, knocking on the side to signal Rory before descreetly grabbing the small fire extinguisher from the side of the seat. He waited, watching the reflection of the van's window until he saw a reptilian shape running at him before he whirled round and set off the extinguisher, spraying the attacker. The creature screamed in pain, and they took advantage of the chaos as Rory jumped out of the back of the van, helping the Time Lords bundle it into the back of the van and slam the doors shut.

"We got it!" Rory said, thankful and surprised that their plan had worked.

"Defending the planet with meals on wheels!" The Doctor cheered, raising his hand for a high five. Before he received one, however, there was another rumbling.

Rory looked around as Ember crouched and put her hand on the ground. "What was that?"

"Sounds like they're leaving." The Doctor said, watching Ember.

"Without this one?"

"They don't want to risk losing more of their own." Ember said, reaching out and feeling the ground being manipulated as the attackers made their escape. Above them, the invisible energy dome allowed the sunlight to come in.

"Looks like we scared them off." Rory said.

"I don't think so." The Doctor said. "Now both sides have hostages."

Ember stood up. "Even playing field. A stalemate. The question is; what do we do in a stalemate? Know your enemy."

* * *

It wasn't long until they were able to get their chilled captive into the crypt under the church. After some deliberation over what to do, the Doctor seemed to have won out.

"So, I think I've met these creatures before." He said as he and Ember approached the door to the crypt, where Rory was standing guard. "Different branch of the species, mind, but all the same. Let's see if our friend's thawed out."

"Are you sure?" Rory asked as they opened the door. "By yourself?"

"Very sure."

Ember knelt at the top of the steps so she could see into the crypt. It wasn't very big, about the size of an average basement, and any coffins that had been in it had been taken out long ago to make room for storage. It really did look like more of a basement than a crypt at this point. She could just make out a huddled form in the far corner.

"But the sting?" Rory said.

"Venom gland takes at least twenty four hours to recharge. Am I right?" The Doctor called the last bit out, knowing that he could be heard. All they got was a hiss. "I know what I'm doing. I'll be fine."

Rory reluctantly left, allowing Ember to stay at the top of the steps while the Doctor walked down them to face their captive, who was slowly crawling out of the corner. There were chains on her wrists connected to a sturdy bolt in the floor, preventing her escape. Ember was quick to notice an important detail; her sleeves were undamaged, meaning that it wasn't her that had grabbed the brunette earlier.

The Doctor slowly moved closer, crouching in front of her. "I'm the Doctor. I've come to talk. I'm going to remove your mask." He moved with precise, clear movements so that he didn't startle the creature. He carefully removed the front faceplate, revealing a humanoid face with reptilian scales. Dark eyes watched him warily. "You are beautiful. Remnant of a bygone age on planet Earth. And by the way, lovely mode of travel. Geothermal currents projecting you up through a network of tunnels. Gorgeous. Mind if I sit?"

He stood and moved to grab a folded chair from the wall, setting it up where he'd been crouching and seating himself. "Now. Your people have a friend of mine. I want her back. Why did you come to the surface? What do you want?" There was no response. "Oh, I do hate a monologue. Give us a bit back. How many are you?"

"... I will not speak with you."

Ember paused. That wasn't was she was supposed to say.

The Doctor tilted his head. "Is there someone you'd prefer to talk to? Within reason, of course."

The reptilian woman eyed him before she spoke again. "I will not speak with you. I will speak only to the Mother."

Now Ember was more surprised than confused. The Doctor was seemingly just as surprised for a moment before he turned in his seat to look at the brunette, gesturing her to come closer.

Ember did so, moving to his side. "I assume you mean me? Mother of Elements?"

"Yes." The reptilian woman said, the 's' dragging out in a hiss. "Legends spoke of you. I had not expected to meet you, Mother."

"Please don't call me that. Makes me sound like a mom. You can call me Ember." Ember tilted her head. "And I believe my friend here asked you a question. How many are there of you?"

"I'm the last of my species."

The Doctor smirked. "Really? No. Last of the species. The Klempari Defence. As an interrogation defence, it's a bit old hat, I'm afraid."

"I'm the last of my species." She hissed again.

"No. You're really not. Because once upon a time I was the last of my species and I know how it sits in a heart. So don't insult me."

Ember put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "And not to mention, your sleeves aren't burnt. I set the sleeves on fire when one of the others tried to drag me off, so we know you weren't alone. Let's take this one step at a time. We've given you our names. May we have yours?"

"...Alaya." Was the reply.

"How long has your tribe been sleeping under the Earth, Alaya?" The Doctor asked, smirking again when Alaya looked at him in surprise. "It's not difficult to work out. You're three hundred million years out of your comfort zone. Question is, what woke you now?"

Alaya didn't answer.

Ember sighed. "They thought they were being attacked. By the drill."

This time Alaya did speak. "Our sensors detected a threat to our life support systems. The warrior class was activated to prevent the assault. We will wipe the vermin from the surface and reclaim our planet!"

"Do we have to say vermin?" The Doctor said, pulling a face. "They're really very nice."

"Primitive apes."

"Extraordinary species. You attack them, they'll fight back. But, there's a peace to be brokered here. I can help you with that."

"This land is ours! We lived here long before the apes!"

"Doesn't give you automatic rights to it now, I'm afraid." The Doctor said. "Humans won't give up the planet."

"So we destroy them."

"You underestimate them."

"You underestimate us."

"One tribe of homo reptilia against six billion humans? You've got your work cut out."

Alaya bristled, standing up. "We did not initiate combat, but we can still win."

"Tell us where our friend is. Give us back the people who were taken."

"No."

The Doctor sighed, standing and folding the chair before putting it aside. "I'm not going to let you provoke a war, Alaya. There'll be no battle here today."

"The fire of war is already lit. A massacre is due."

"Not while I'm here."

"I'll gladly die for my cause." Alaya said. "What will you sacrifice for yours?"

The Doctor hesitated, but in the end didn't answer, turning to the stairs.

"I think we should talk a little bit more," Ember said. The Doctor paused and offered the chair, but the brunette shook her head, instead moving to sit cross legged on the floor. "Let's try to find an even ground between us."

Both the Doctor and Alaya looked at her, and then to the former's surprise the latter moved to sit in front of Ember, crossing her legs to sit in the same position.

"I'll be fine, Doctor." Ember smiled up at him. "I'll be up in a minute."

After another moment's hesitation, the Doctor nodded, moving to the stairs and leaving.

"Why do you side with the apes, Mother?" Alaya asked.

"Ember, please," The brunette said. "And if you want to be specific, I'm not siding with anyone. You live on this planet. So do the humans. You both have a right to claim this planet as your home, the only difference is time."

Alaya shook her head. "We were here while they were still swinging from trees with their tails!"

Ember tilted her head. "Lizards have tails too, you know. Look, there's been a misunderstanding. The drill, the thing you thought was attacking, you've got it wrong. They didn't know you were there. This doesn't have to end in war."

"But it will."

"And who trained you to think that way? Did they do the same to your sister?"

That made Alaya blink in surprise. "What?"

Ember nodded. "I know about your sister. Restac. I know that you've got much more than a tribe down there, and most of them are sleeping. You were trained as a warrior, but would the rest want to wake up to a war, or a massacre? Were you trained to protect your world or destroy someone else's? I want everyone to get home safely to their families, and that includes you."

Alaya didn't answer; looking away in thought.

"Ember!" The Doctor's voice called from the stairs. "Come on!"

The brunette slowly stood, waiting until the reptilian woman looked up at her before she spoke. "You know the one thing that fear and anger have in common? They are the shortest distance to a mistake. Don't let the mistake happen. Please."

With that, she turned and left, going up the stairs to find the Doctor just as he reached the top. With a grin, he took her hand and pulled her with him back to the church, where everyone else was waiting.

* * *

"You're going to what?" Rory asked.

Everyone had gathered in the church, where the Doctor and Ember has explained what had happened to cause the attacks, and that was when the Doctor revealed his plan.

"We're going to go down below the surface, to find the rest of the tribe, to talk to them." The Doctor said like it was that simple.

Ambrose looked annoyed by this. "You're going to negotiate with these aliens?"

"They're not aliens. They're Earth...liens." The Doctor fumbled slightly as he stood. "Once known as the Silurian race, or, some would argue, Eocenes, or Homo Reptilia. Not monsters, not evil. Well, only as evil as you are. The previous owners of the planet, that's all. Look, from their point of view, you're the invaders. Your drill was threatening their settlement. Now, the creature in the crypt. Her name's Alaya. She's one of their warriors, and she's my best bargaining chip. I need her alive. If she lives, so do Elliot and Mo and Amy, because I will find them. While I'm gone, you four people, in this church, in this corner of planet Earth, you have to be the best of humanity."

"And what if they come back?" Tony pointed out. "Shouldn't we be examining this creature? Dissecting it, finding its weak points?"

Ember met his gaze. "So you're going to explain to them why you cut open one of their people? Would you accept it if they did it to one of yours?"

Tony hesitated, then shook his head.

"Didn't think so. Look, no one has died. Let's not be the ones to start the killing, alright?"

Ambrose looked at the brunette. "How do you know they haven't killed my husband and son? Or your friend?"

Ember didn't flinch back, which made the mother falter slightly as she saw those silver eyes flash dangerously. "Let's say I have experience. But you shouldn't stoop to that level. The moment you do that, you set the standard. Do you want them to start killing just because you did it first?"

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "We return their hostage, they return ours, nobody gets harmed. We can land this together, if you are the best you can be. You are decent, brilliant people. Nobody dies today. Understand?"

There was a long pause, and then Nasreen began to applaud, though she did stop shortly after.

Ember gave her a smile just before the Doctor pulled her with him as he left the room. "Um, Doctor, maybe I should stay here?"

"It's better if you come along," the Doctor replied. "If Alaya knew you, chances are the rest of her tribe will too. If they won't listen to me, they should listen to you."

Finding herself unable to argue that logic, Ember nodded, though she did turn to Rory and lowered her voice so only he could hear her. "Watch everyone carefully. Fear can lead to anger, which will lead to a mistake. Protect Alaya."

Rory nodded, patting her shoulder as she passed. She caught up to the Doctor as he and Nasreen reached the Tardis, which was when the Doctor noticed the extra person.

"No, sorry, no." He said to Nasreen. "What are you doing?"

"Coming with you, of course." Nasreen looked at the Tardis. "What is it, some kind of transport pod?"

"Sort of, but you're not coming with us."

"He's right." Tony said, having followed Ember. "You're not."

Nasreen turned to him. "I have spent all my life excavating the layers of this planet, and now you want me to stand back while you head down into it? I don't think so."

"I don't have time to argue." The Doctor said.

"I thought we were in a rush."

"It'll be dangerous."

"Oh, so's crossing the road." Nasreen pointed out.

"Oh, for goodness sake." The Doctor looked at Ember for help, only for her to shrug. "All right, then. Come on!"

He opened the door to the Tardis and allowed Ember inside before himself. A few moments later, Nasreen followed, though she stopped when she realised how big it was.

"Welcome aboard the Tardis." The Doctor said, flicking switches. "Now, don't touch anything. Very precious."

"No way..." Nasreen breathed, walking up to the console. "But, but that's... this is... fantastic! What does it do?"

The Doctor grinned. "Everything. I'm hoping, if we're going down, that barricade won't interfere." He'd barely finished that sentence before they were nearly knocked off their feet by a sudden jolt, though Ember was quick to grab the seat to steady herself. "Did you touch something?!"

"No! Isn't this what it does?"

"I'm not doing anything! We've been hijacked! I can't stop it!" The Doctor clambered his way around to the monitor. "They must've sensed the electro-magnetic field. They're pulling the Tardis down into the Earth."

Ember looked at the large screen at the far wall, seeing dirt rushing upwards. "Brace for impact!"

Her warning didn't quite help, as the other two were thrown to the floor with the final thud. Nasreen, who was next to the Doctor, reached out and pulled one of his braces to flick against his chest, making him flinch. "Where are we?"

The Doctor shot to his feet and ran to the doors, followed by Nasreen and Ember. They stepped out of the Tardis to find themselves in some what looked like an underground cavern, loose soil trickling down from above. He whistled, the sound echoing around them, and looked up at the hole above the Tardis. "Looks like we fell through the bottom of their tunnel system. Don't suppose it was designed for handling something like this."

"How far down are we?" Nasreen asked, shaking dirt out of her hair.

"Oh, a lot more than twenty one kilometres."

"So why aren't we burning alive?"

That made the Doctor look at her. "Don't know. Interesting, isn't it?"

"We're not quite at the core." Ember's voice made them turn to look at her, to find that she was crouched down with her hands on the floor and her eyes closed. "I think I can feel the molten lava below."

The Doctor grinned, moving to crouch in front of her and kissing her forehead, making her look up at him and blush at the affectionate look he was giving her. "The Great Fire."

Nasreen watched them with curiousity. "It's like this is everyday to you."

"Not every day." The Doctor said before he shrugged. "Every other day."

Ember stood up, brushing the loose dirt from her hand as she moved to follow the Doctor and Basreen through the tunnel.

"We're looking for a small tribal settlement," the Doctor explained, "probably housing around a dozen Homo Reptilia? Maybe less."

Nasreen caught sight of something to the side and paused, walking to what looked like a ledge with a railing. Ember followed. "One small tribe?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe a dozen?"

By now the Doctor has noticed that the ladies weren't following, walking back to them to see what they were looking at: a vast chamber with what looked like a subterranean city. "Ah.Maybe more than a dozen. Maybe more like an entire civilisation living beneath the Earth."

Ember took a breath. "And our little problem just got bigger. Much bigger."

* * *

And there we have it! Part one done!

Next Time: Ember has to pick her battles as she and the Doctor broker for peace. Has her words changed the way things go? Will they need more than words? Stay tuned!


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Cold Blood

And here's Part Two! Happy New Year, everyone!

* * *

Chapter 17: Cold Blood

* * *

The Doctor, Ember and Nasreen looked at the expanse of the city around them, realising that the situation was much more dire than it seemed.

"This place is enormous and deserted." The Doctor said as he led the ladies across a rocky bridge suspended over a river of lava below, using his Sonic to scan the area. "The majority of the race are probably still asleep. We need to find Amy. Looking for heat signature anomalies."

"But Doctor, how can all this be here?" Nasreen said, looking at the local fauna that adorned the walls. "I mean, these plants..."

The Doctor led them to another tunnel. "Must be getting closer to the centre of the city."

"You're sure this is the best way to enter?"

"Front door approach. Definitely. Always the best way."

Ember shook her head as they reached the end of the corridor, where a pair of doors were shut. "And there's the jinx."

An alarm sounded, and a female computerised voice spoke. _"Hostile life forms detected area seventeen."_

"Apart from the back door approach." The Doctor amended, turning around. "That's also good. Sometimes better."

_"Hostile life forms detected area seventeen."_

"Doctor." Nasreen said as the doors opened and several reptilian warriors appeared.

The Doctor turned, only to look back the way they'd come when more warriors appeared. He and the ladies put their hands up. "We're not hostile! We're not armed! We're here in peace!"

One of the warriors stepped forward, pointing its weapon at them. A green gas blew in their faces, making them cough before rendering them unconscious. Ember was able to stay awake for a few more seconds longer than the other two, so she was the only one who heard one of the warriors speak.

"Mother of Elements..."

Then she passed out.

* * *

_She was angry. How dare they?!_

_"You must be calm." A male voice spoke. It sounded strangely familiar._

_Why? Why should she be calm when she was here?! How dare they expect her to be calm?!_

_"Because if you do not calm, she will be lost."_

_That made her pause, looking at something that she couldn't see clearly._

_"Her life is in your hands. Only through you will she live again."_

_But... how...?_

_"The details are unimportant. What matters is that you are willing, for you are the only one who can."_

_... so be it. She'll calm. And she'll wait... for her sake..._

* * *

Ember barely woke up when she felt her head throb, plunging her into a vision before she'd even opened her eyes...

_The Silurians were scanning the Doctor, the process painful for the Time Lord. He tried to tell them that he wasn't human, but they didn't believe him, and the following decontamination ended up killing him before he could regenerate..._

Silver eyes snapped open as Ember was abruptly pulled out of the vision by a cry of pain. She'd recognise that voice anywhere: it was the Doctor.

Ember looked around quickly, finding herself on an upright examination board. Hers was to the right of the Doctor's, while Nasreen was to his left and still unconscious. In front of them were several Silurians: at least three that she could see had their warrior gear and masks on. There were two that didn't: one was male, wearing a white lab coat and grey apron, and one female wearing a red dress. Her face was almost exactly like Alaya's, the only difference being some bronze scales and a scar over her left eye. They were in some kind of lab with equipment and screens.

"No!" The Doctor tried to speak, but the pain cut him off. "Argh!"

"It's all right, it won't harm you." The male Silurian said. "I'm only neutralising all your ape bacteria."

"I'm not an ape! Look at the scans! Two hearts!" The Doctor called. "Totally different, totally not ape! Remove all human germs, you remove half the things keeping me alive."

The male hesitated, but didn't stop the process.

Ember found herself growling as the Doctor cried out again in pain. "Oi! Malohkeh! Listen to him!"

"How did you know my name?" The male Silurian asked, shocked.

"I'll tell you after you turn that off!" Ember snapped, her silver eyes flashing again. "Now! Or I'll do it myself!"

She didn't notice, but several cracks appeared in the floor around her. The Silurians shifted, expecting an attack, but the cracks only reached the work station where the male was before stopping.

The male Slilurian looked at his screens that displayed the scan of the Doctor, noticing his two hearts, and he quickly turned a switch that made the machines power down with a hum.

"No, complete the process!" The female Silurian demanded. "She's bluffing!"

Ember turned her eyes to the female, her pupils so small they were barely visible. "Then chance it, and we'll see who wins! I know one of your warriors came back with burnt sleeves: you're looking at the one who did that!"

"Then it's true..." the male, Malohkeh, said. "You're the Mother of Elements..."

"Oh, that's much better, thanks." The Doctor said, finally relaxing. "Not got any celery, have you? No. No, not really the climate. Tomatoes, though. You'd do a roaring trade in those. I'm the Doctor, and that's Ember." He glanced to his left as Malohkeh moved to wake Nasreen. "Oh, and there's Nasreen. Good."

The woman woke, and the first thing she saw was Malohkeh. "Oh, a green man."

The Doctor looked at the female Silurian, who was watching them carefully. "Hello. Who are you?"

"Restac, Military commander."

"Oh dear, really? There's always a military, isn't there?"

"Your weapon was attacking the oxygen pockets above our city." Malohkeh said.

Ember shook her head, leaning forward as much as she could so that the male could see her. "It wasn't a weapon!"

"Oxygen pockets, lovely." The Doctor said, only to pause. "Ooo, but not so good with an impending drill. Now it makes sense."

Restac walked right up to the Doctor. "Where is the rest of your invasion force?"

"Invasion force? Me and lovely Ember and Nasreen? No. We came for the humans you took. And to offer the safe return of Alaya." The Doctor paused again at the reaction he got from that name: Restac tensed, but the emotion slipped through her mask for a split second. "Oh wait, you and she, what is it, same genetic source? Of course you're worried, but don't be, she's safe."

"No one has to die today," Ember added.

Restac turned away, making a gesture to the warriors. "You claim to come in peace, but you hold one of us hostage."

"Wait, wait, we all want the same thing here." The Doctor said.

"I don't negotiate with apes." Restac looked at Malohkeh as he walked to her side. "I'm going to send a clear message to those on the surface."

"What's that?"

"Your execution." Restac told them as the warriors, which turned out to be more than Ember had first thought.

Ember tried to fight back when her restraints were removed, but the Doctor was able to catch her eye and subtly shake his head as he and Nasreen were released as well. The brunette decided to use words instead. "You fear for your sister, but will killing us really help? You'll start the war you've assumed has already started!"

Restac looked at her. "This _is_ war. Apes started it, but we will finish it in victory."

"No, all you'll be doing is starting a war! No one has died, don't be the ones to start the killing!"

Malohkeh looked thoughtful at her words, but didn't speak. He moved to walk behind the trio, who now had their hands tied behind their backs, as they were escorted out of the room and through the tunnels. It was while they were walking through some kind of gardens when the Doctor spoke again.

"These must be the only ones awake. The others must still be in hibernation."

"So, why did they go into hibernation in the first place?" Nasreen asked.

"Their astronomers predicted the planet heading to Earth on a crash course. They a built life underground and put themselves to sleep for millennia in order to avert what they thought was the apocalypse, when in reality it was the moon coming into alignment with the Earth."

Restac, who'd been leading the group, stopped and turned to look at them.

"How can you know that?" Malohkeh asked.

The Doctor looked at them. "Long time ago, I met another tribe of Homo Reptilia. Similar, but not identical."

"Others of our species have survived?" Restac asked.

This time the Doctor hesitated. "The humans attacked them. They died. I'm sorry."

The Silurians hissed lowly, either in mourning or anger.

"A vermin race." Restac said, turning to walk again.

Malohkeh was about to pass the trio to follow when Ember shifted slightly in his path to stop him. "But that tribe isn't the only one out there. The humans tend to lash out when they're afraid or don't understand what's happening. You assumed they were attacking: They were only trying to learn."

Another thoughtful look crossed the man's face before he moved on. The trio were pushed to follow. They soon found themselves in a large room with a long table in the centre and ranks of benches lining the walls. Lamps lit the room in a warm glow.

"You're not authorised to do this." Malohkeh said to Restac at last.

"I am authorised to protect the safety of our species while they sleep." Restac replied.

The Doctor looked around, taking in the beautiful room that looked similar to a church or political building. "Oh, lovely place. Very gleaming."

Restac turned to them as she reached the head of the table. "This is our court and our place of execution."

"Let them go."

Everyone turned at the voice, to find Amy appear from the far door with some sort of gun in her hands.

"Amy Pond!" The Doctor cheered. "There's a girl to rely on."

"You're covered both ways, so don't try anything clever, buster." Amy said as a young man appeared from the door they'd just come in.

"Mo!" Nasreen said, recognising the man.

"Now let them go, or I shoot." Amy hesitated as Restac moved closer. "I'm warning you!"

In one swift move, Restac reached out, took the gun and shoved Amy to the floor.

"Don't you touch her!" The Doctor called.

Restac ignored him, turning to point the gun at the trio while addressing Mo. "And you."

Mo had no choice but to give up his weapon and get pushed to join the rest of the group.

"All right, Restac, you've made your point." Malohkeh said.

"This is now a military tribunal." Restac said, facing him head on. "Go back to your laboratory, Malohkeh."

The two hissed at each other, but Malohkeh backed down. "This isn't the way."

Restac ignored him as he was escorted out of the room, turning to the remaining warriors. "Prepare them for execution."

"Okay, sorry." Amy said as the five captives were shackled to a pair of columns by rings that were attached. "As rescues go, didn't live up to its potential."

"I'm glad you're okay." The Doctor said as he was shackled between Ember and Nasreen.

"Me too. Lizard men, though..."

"Homo Reptilia. They occupied the planet before humans. Now they want it back."

"After they've wiped out the human race." Nasreen added.

Amy bit her lip. "Right. Preferred it when I didn't know, to be honest."

"Why are they waiting? What do you think they're going to do with us?"

The Doctor turned his head as best he could to look at Ember. "Hint?"

"Hostages, leverage. Whatever they want to call us." The brunette replied. "There's still a chance if things haven't gone wrong upstairs."

"Gone wrong how?"

Now Ember hesitated. "I hope it hasn't."

A holographic projection appeared above them, showing what looked like a room with a high window. Restac moves to stand in front of the 'screen' and spoke. "Who is the ape leader? Who speaks for the apes?"

A pause, and then Rory appeared on the screen._ "__I speak for the... humans. Some of us, anyway."_

Ember bit her lip. It wasn't looking like her words had changed anything.

"Do you understand who we are?" Restaurant asked.

_"Sort of."_ Rory hesitated._ "A bit. Not really."_

"We have ape hostages."

Either the camera moved or the screen widened on their end, because Rory suddenly looked relieved. _"__Doctor! Amy! Ember!"_

Ambrose appeared next to him, seeing her husband._ "Mo! Mo, are you okay?"_

"I'm fine, love!" Mo replied. "I've found Elliot. I'm bringing him home."

_"Amy, I thought I'd lost you."_ Rory said.

Amy rolled her eyes with a playful smirk. "What, cause I was sucked into the ground? You're so clingy."

"Tony Mack!" Nasreen said, seeing the man appear on Rory's other side.

_"__Having fun down there?"_ He asked.

"Not to interrupt," the Doctor said, "but just a quick reminder to stay calm."

Restac didn't even glance back at him. "Show me Alaya. Show me, and release her immediately unharmed, or we kill your friends one by one."

_"No."_ Ambrose said. She looked shaky, but determined.

Rory tried to gently push her aside. _"__Ambrose..."_

"Steady now, everyone." The Doctor warned.

_"__Ambrose, stop it."_ Tony tried to pull her back, but she fought him off.

_"Get off me, Dad. We didn't start this!"_

Ember looked away, glancing at the door. '_Come on, Malohkeh!'_

The Doctor tried to take charge. "Let Rory deal with this, Ambrose, eh?"

_"We are not doing what you say any more. Now, give me back my family!"_

"No." Restac said, turning to the warriors. "Execute the girl."

_"No! No, wait!"_ Rory panicked as Amy was releasehed from the shackles and forced to her knees in the centre of the room.

"Rory!"

_"She's not speaking for us!"_

"There's no need for this!" The Doctor called.

_"Listen, listen! Whatever you want, we'll do it!"_

Restac ignored all of them. "Aim."

_"Amy!"_

"Rory!"

"Don't do this!" The Doctor tried again as the warriors pointed their weapons at the redhead.

_"__No!"_ Rory cried before the screen went blank.

"Fire!"

"STOP!"

Everyone turned at the booming voice that stilled them all. A new male Silurian was at the door to the room, dressed in fancy robes that screamed importance. Malohkeh was just behind him.

Ember let out a breath of relief. That had been too close, even though it had gone exactly as it should have.

The new Silurian marched across the room, the warriors bowing their heads in respect as he passed, until he reached the commander. "You want to start a war while the rest of us sleep, Restac?"

"The apes are attacking us!" Restac said.

"You're our protector, not our commander, Restac. Unchain them."

Restac tilted her head. "I do not recognise your authority at this time, Eldane."

"Well then, you must shoot me." Eldane challenged, holding out his arms. He knew as well as Resrac did that she wouldn't do it.

After another moment, Restac moved away, walking until she reached Malohkeh and glaring at him in accusation. "You woke him to undermine me."

"We're not monsters." Malohkeh said calmly. "And neither are they."

"What is it about apes you love so much, hmm?"

"While you slept, they've evolved. I've seen it for myself."

"We used to hunt apes for sport." Restac reminded him snidely. "When we came underground, they bred and polluted this planet."

"Shush now, Restac." Eldane said. "Go and play soldiers. I'll let you know if I need you."

Restac looked at him. "You'll need me, then we'll see." With that, she and several of the warriors left the room.

The ones remaining immediately went to unchaining the captives. Ember was the first one to be free from the pillar she shared with the Doctor and Nasreen, though she paused as Eldane stopped before her and bowed his head. "Please accept my humblest apologies, Mother."

"Uh, apology accepted, but please, call me Ember." The brunette replied, then tilted her head. "You guys know me? How?"

"We were raised on legends," Eldane said. "One of them tells of the Mother of Elements: She who breathed life into our world, brought us the wind and the rain and the earth and the flames. Forgive me, but we did not expect to ever meet you in person."

Ember shrugged. "I dunno if I'm the same one from your legends, though. I've kinda got a memory problem right now."

That made Eldane look at her curiously. "Maybe you are, or maybe you're not. But you call on the elements, so as far as I am concerned, you have the right to that title."

"I guess." Ember didn't really want to tell him that she didn't have powers over the fourth element yet.

The Doctor was quick to go right to work on the projection once he was released, bringing the feed to the surface back up. "Rory! Hello!"

_"Where's Amy?"_ Rory instantly asked.

"She's fine. Look, here, she is."

_"Oh, thank God!"_

"Keeping you on your toes." Amy quipped with a wink.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "No time to chat. Listen, you need to get down here. Go to the drill storeroom. There's a large patch of earth in the middle of the floor. The Silurians are going to send up transport discs to bring you back down using geothermal energy and gravity bubble technology. It's how they travel and frankly, it's pretty cool. Bring Alaya. We hand her over, we can land this after all. All going to work, promise. Got to dash. Hurry up."

He cut the transmission before there could be a reply. Ember wished she'd had the chance to ask what had happened.

The Doctor turned to face the elder Silurian, who had now sat at the long table opposite where Amy and Nasreen were sitting. "I'd say you've got a fair bit to talk about."

"How so?" Eldane asked.

"You both want the planet. You both have a genuine claim to it."

"Are you authorised to negotiate on behalf of humanity?"

"Me? No." The Doctor gestured to Amy and Nasreen. "But they are."

"What?" Nasreen was surprised.

"No, we're not." Amy added.

"Course you are." The Doctor grinned as he walked around to the other end of the table, patting the ladies on the shoulders. "Amy Pond and Nasreen Chaudhry, speaking for the planet? Humanity couldn't have better ambassadors. Come on, who has more fun than us?"

Amy stood and walked up to him, lowering her voice as Nasreen moved to join them. She looked at Ember, much to the brunette's surprise. "Is this what happens, in the future? The planet gets shared? Is that what we need to do?"

"Er, what are you talking about?" Nasreen asked.

The Doctor winced. "Oh Nasreen, sorry. Probably worth mentioning at this stage, Amy and I travel in time a bit."

"Anything else?"

"There are fixed points through time where things must always stay the way they are. This is not one of them. This is an opportunity. A temporal tipping point. Whatever happens today, will change future events, create its own timeline, its own reality. The future pivots around you, here, now. So do good, for humanity, and for Earth."

"Right." Amy said, taking a breath. "No pressure there, then."

Nasreen shook her head. "We can't share the planet. Nobody on the surface is going to go for this idea. It is just too big a leap."

"Come on." The Doctor urged gently. "Be extraordinary."

"Oh..." Nasreen shook her head at him before turning and walking back to the table.

The Doctor grinned, slapping his hand on the table. "Okay! Bringing things to order. The first meeting of representatives of the human race and Homo Reptilia is now in session. Ha! Never said that before. That's fab. Carry on." He moved back to where Mo was standing with Ember and Malohkeh. "Now, Mo. Let's go and get your son. Oh, you know, humans, and their predecessors shooting the breeze. Never thought I'd see it."

Malohkeh was the one to lead the Doctor, Ember and Mo to the status pods where Mo and Amy had been to before, where Elliot was in one of the pods.

"Elliot. There you are." The Doctor said, squeezing Ember's hand.

Mo turned to Malohkeh. "If you've harmed him in any way..."

"Of course not." The Silurian replied. "I only store the young."

"Told you so," Ember said, reminding the Doctor of when she'd said before that the child wouldn't be harmed.

"But why?" The Doctor asked.

Malohkeh nodded to a screen that showed the statistics of the occupant. "I took samples of the young, slowed their lifecycles to a millionth of their normal rate so I could study how they grew, what they needed, how they lived on the surface."

The Doctor looked at him for a long moment. "You've been down here working by yourself, all alone?"

"My family, through the millennia, and for the last three hundred years, just me." Malohkeh looked at Mo. "I never meant to harm your child."

"Malohkeh, I rather love you." The Doctor said, doing some kind of fist bump thing with him.

The Silurian turned and pressed some controls on the screen before he nodded. "It's safe. We can wake him. Come."

Mo moved into the chamber to stand in front of his son as the boy blinked as he awoke. "Elliot? Ell, it's Dad."

"Dad..." Elliot hugged his father.

"You're safe now."

"Where are we?"

"Well, I've got to be honest with you, son. We're in the centre of the Earth, and there are lizard men."

Malohkeh waved sheepishly when the boy looked at him, worried that he'd freak out. "Hi."

Elliot smiled, easing the worry. "Wow."

"Elliot," Ember called, squeezing past the men to kneel in front of the boy. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop them from taking you."

"It's okay." Elliot said. "I forgive you."

The Doctor grinned as he led them to the door out of the lab. Malohkeh's eyes caught something on one of the screens and hesitated before he spoke. "You go on, Doctor. I'll catch up."

Ember, being the last one out, stopped at his side and tapped his shoulder. "Here's a hint; be careful. Don't walk into the slaughterhouse."

She left before he could reply, though he did look thoughtful.

"Doctor," Ember called, running to catch up to the man. "This might go very wrong. Not everyone is willing to change. Some people just aren't ready."

The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it twice to show that he'd heard as they made their way back to the courtroom, just catching the end of a conversation.

"If I could get a word in, maybe I could tell you." Eldane said. "You give us space, we can bring new sources of energy, new methods of water supply, new medicines, scientific advances. We were a great civilisation. You provide a place for us on the surface, we'll give you knowledge and technology beyond humanity's dreams. If we work together, this planet could achieve greatness."

Nasreen nodded. "Okay. Now I'm starting to see it."

"Oh yeah." Amy added.

The Doctor clapped, drawing their attention to him.  
"Not bad for a first session. More similarities than differences."

There was a loud whooshing sound. Eldane recognised it. "The transport has returned. Your friends are here."

In a few minutes, Rory appeared in the doorway, followed by Ambrose.

"Here they are." The Doctor said, not noticing the problem right away.

"Mum!" Elliot ran to his mother, who hugged him tightly.

"Rory!" Amy ran to the groom to be.

The Doctor felt Ember squeeze his hand twice, following her gaze to the bundle in Tony's arms as the man entered the room. "Something's wrong."

Amy saw it too. "Doctor, what's he carrying?"

"No. Don't do this. Tell me you didn't do this." The Doctor murmured as Tony put the bundle on the floor.

Then, to Ember's surprise, the bundle _moved_. It was only slightly, but that wasn't the point. _It moved_.

The Doctor knelt and carefully lifted the end of the blanket up, to find Alaya, gasping for breath but very much alive. He looked up at the man who'd carried her, his voice nowhere near as angry as it would have been if he'd found a corpse. "What did you do?"

"It was me." Ambrose said. "I did it."

"Mum?" Elliot looked shocked, stepping out of his mother's embrace.

"I just wanted you back." Ambrose reached for him, but the boy stepped further back.

"You hurt her on purpose?"

The Doctor stood, Ember taking his place, and turned to Eldane. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. You have to believe me, they're better than this."

At the same time, Ember reached out but then hesitated, only to be surprised when Alaya herself closed the distance to weakly nuzzle into her palm. "I'm sorry, Alaya... I'm sorry that they hurt you..."

"You... were watching over me... Mother..." Alaya rasped before she fell limp. Ember feared the worst, but then she heard the Silurian take a breath: she was just unconscious.

"This is our planet!" Ambrose's shout made the brunette turn her attention back to the others.

"We had a chance here!" The Doctor said to her, but she ignored him.

"Leave us alone!"

The Doctor moved to stand right in front of her to make sure she was listening to him. "In future, when you talk about this, you tell people there was a chance but you were so much less than the best of humanity."

At that moment, Restac and her troops walked in. There were many more than she'd left with, but Ember knew that it was because she'd woken reinforcements.

"My sister." She demanded, but it was Ember's moving away from the prone form that drew her attention. She moved to kneel and lean over her fallen sister, letting out a sound of grief.

Ember decided to chance it, kneeling again on the other side of Alaya. "She's not dead, Restac. Just injured. Your technology can heal her, if you get her to a stasis pod now."

Restac at first didn't look at her, instead making a gesture to one of warriors, who approached and picked up the injured Silurian to carry her away. The commander then finally met her gaze. "And you want us to trust these apes, Mother?"

"They're not all like this."

"One woman." The Doctor added. "She was scared for her family. She is not typical."

"I think she is." Restac countered as she stood, turning to glare at the woman.

"One person let us down, but there is a whole race of dazzling, peaceful human beings up there. You were building something here. Come on. An alliance could work!"

"It's too late for that, Doctor." Ambrose said suddenly.

The Doctor turned to look at her, dread filling his hearts. "Why?"

"Our drill is set to start burrowing again in..." Ambrose check a stopwatch she'd revealed, "...fifteen minutes."

"What?" Nasreen said, turning to Tony. He was the only one besides her who knew how to work the equipment.

"What choice did I have? They had Elliot."

The Doctor turned to Restac again. "Don't do this. Don't call their bluff."

"Let us go back." Ambrose demanded. "And you promise to never come to the surface ever again. We'll walk away, leave you alone."

Restac hissed. "Execute her!"

"No!" The Doctor grabbed Ambrose and pulled her out of harms way from a gun shot, turning to the rest of the group. "Everybody, back to the lab! Run!"

"Execute all the apes!"

The humans and ran, surprisingly followed by Eldane, out of the room. The Doctor was the last one out, though Ember stayed by his side, and pointed his Sonic at the Silurians, making their weapons spark and break. "This is a deadly weapon. Stay back!"

One of the Silurians lashed out with their tongue, but it was dodged. Ember through out her hand and made flames shoot up between them and the reptiles, giving them some extra time to catch up with the others in the tunnel.

"Take everyone to the lab. I'll cover you." The Doctor said to Rory, waiting until he had taken the others away before he turned to the Silurians as they caught up, making two more weapons spark. "Ah, ah, Stop right there or I'll use my very deadly weapon again! One warning, that's all you get. If there can be no deal, you go back into hibernation. All of you, now. This ends here."

"No." Restac said, having got to the front of the group. "It only ends with our victory!"

"Like I said, one warning." The Doctor made more weapons spark as Ember made more flames appear from the ground, and then he took the brunette's hand and pulled her with him down the tunnel before they reached the laboratory again, where he sealed the door. To Ember's surprise, Malohkeh was present.

"Weren't you...?" She began.

Malohkeh smiled. "You warned me, Mother. I heeded your words."

"Call me Ember, please."

The Doctor looked at Mo and his son, pointing to a screen with his Sonic to show a camera feed of the surrounding tunnels. "Elliot, you and your dad keep your eyes on that screen. Let me know if we get company." He tossed Amy the stopwatch he'd taken from Ambrose. "Amy, keep reminding me how much time I haven't got."

"Okay. Um, er, twelve minutes till drill impact."

The Doctor then turned to Tony, who was sat heavily against the wall and not looking well. "Tony Mack. Sweaty forehead, dilated pupils. What are you hiding?"

Tony unbuttoned his short a bit, pulling the cloth aside to reveal dark green veins across his chest.

Nasreen gasped as the Doctor scanned the veins with the Sonic. "Tony, what happened?"

"Alaya's sting. She said there's no cure." Tony looked at the Doctor as he moved to Sonic the work station. "I'm dying, aren't I?"

"You're not dying, you're mutating."

"How can I stop it?"

"Decontamination program. Might work. Don't know." The Doctor turned to the two Silurians. "Eldane, Malohkeh, can you run the program on Tony?"

The scientist went to do just that as Mo called from their spot. "Doctor, shedload of those creatures coming our way. We're surrounded in here."

"So, question is, how we do stop the drill given we can't get there in time? Plus, also, how do we get out, given that we're surrounded? Nasreen, how do you feel about an energy pulse channelled up through the tunnels to the base of the drill?"

Nasreen blinked. "To blow up my life's work?"

"Yes. Sorry. No nice way of putting that."

"Right, well, you're going to have to do it before the drill hits the city, in er..."

Amy looked at the watch. "Eleven minutes forty seconds."

"Yes!" The Doctor said. "Squeaky bum time!"

Ember pulled a face. Where the heck did he get that phrase from and how could she get rid of it?

"Yes, but the explosion is going to cave in all the surrounding tunnels, so we have to be out and on the surface by then." Nasreen pointed out.

"But we can't get past Restac's troops." Rory argued.

"I can help with that." Eldane said, making everyone look at him. "Toxic Fumigation. An emergency failsafe meant to protect my species from infection. A warning signal to occupy cryo-chambers. After that, citywide fumigation by toxic gas. Then the city shuts down."

"You could end up killing your own people." Amy said.

"Only those foolish enough to follow Restac, and turn a deaf ear to Mother."

Ember tilted her head. "You mean the one from the legends or me?"

The elder smiled at her. "You have bestowed wisdom and mercy upon us despite our actions towards the humans. As far as I am concerned, that makes you one and the same."

The brunette looked away, a blush dusting her face.

"Eldane, are you sure about this?" The Doctor asked.

"My priority is my race's survival. The Earth isn't ready for us to return yet."

"No..."

"Ten minutes, Doctor." Amy called.

"But maybe it should be." The Doctor looked thoughtful, Ember's earlier hint coming back. "So, here's a deal. Everybody listening. Eldane, you activate shutdown. I'll amend the system, set your alarm for a thousand years time. A thousand years to sort the planet out. To be ready. Pass it on. As legend, or prophesy, or religion, but somehow make it known." He looked at Elliot as he said the last bit. "This planet is to be shared."

The boy nodded. "Yeah. I get you."

"Nine minutes, seven seconds." Amy said.

"Yes!" The Doctor ran back over to the control panels, helping Eldane work. "Fluid controls, my favourite! Energy pulse. Timed, primed and set. Before we go, energy barricade. Need to cancel it out quickly."

"Fumigation pre-launching." Eldane said.

Rory moved to the Doctor's side. "There's not much time for us to get from here to the surface, Doctor!"

"Ah ha, super-squeaky bum time!" This time he caught Ember's look at the phrase. "Hush, you. Get ready to run for your lives. Now..."

Malohkeh cut him off. "But the decontamination program on your friend hasn't started yet."

Tony took a breath. "Well, go. All of you, go."

"No, we're not leaving you here!" Ambrose said.

"Granddad!" Elliot ran over to hug him.

"Eight minutes ten seconds." Amy reported.

Tony lowered himself to Elliot's level. "Now you look after your mum. You mustn't blame her. She only did what she thought was right."

"I'm not going to see you again, am I?"

"I'll be here, always." Tony pat his heart and hugged the boy again. "I love you, boy." He gently guided him to his mother. "You be sure he gets home safe."

"This is my fault!" She wept.

"No, I can't go back up there. I'd be a freak show. The technology down here's my only hope."

Ambrose hugged her father. "I love you, Dad."

"Go. Go! Go on." Tony said, letting Malohkeh guide him back to the examination table.

The Doctor looked at Eldane and nodded, prompting the elder to put his hand on the panel, which in turn caused the main lights to go off and be replaced with green lights.

_"Toxic fumigation initiated."_ The female automated voice declared. _"Return to cryo-chambers. Toxic fumigation initiated. Return to cryo-chambers..."_

Amy looked at the security feeds on the screen, seeing the tunnels clearing of the warriors. "They're going! We're clear!"

"Okay, everyone follow Nasreen. Look for a blue box. Get ready to run." He opened the doors and then walked up to Eldane. "I'm sorry."

"I thought for a moment, our race and the humans..." the elder said, trailing off.

"Yeah, me too."

"Doctor, We've got less than six minutes!" Amy called.

"Go. Go! I'm right behind you." The Doctor told her, turning to Nasreen as the others ran. "Let's go."

Ember turned to Eldane and Malohkeh, letting the Doctor talk to Nasreen. "I don't know what'll be waiting for you when you wake up. I hope they'll be ready."

"We hope for the same," Eldane said. "We are honoured to have met you, Mother of Elements. Perhaps we will meet again."

Malohkeh nodded as the elder moved away to address the Doctor. "And if we don't, then we will remember your wisdom and your kindness, always."

Ember blushed again. "Only if you call me Ember."

"Very well. Good luck, Ember."

Amy ran back into the room. "Doctor!"

"Thank you, Doctor." Nasreen said, now beside Tony.

The Doctor smiled, hugging the woman. "The pleasure was all mine."

"Come and look for us."

_"__Immediate evacuation."_ The computer announced as the trio ran through the tunnels. The Doctor had taken Ember by the hand to keep her at his side.

Rory was running the other way when they passed him, prompting Amy to call "Other way, idiot!"

_"Toxic fumigation is about to commence. Immediate evacuation."_

"Come on!" The Doctor yelled as they caught up to Mo, Ambrose and Elliot were waiting on the long bridge around them. He led them the rest of the way to the Tardis and pulled out his key, opening the door. "No questions, just get in! And yes, I know, it's big. Ambrose, sickbay up the stairs, left, then left again, Get yourself fixed up. Come on. Five minutes and counting..."

A low buzz made him, Ember, Amy and Rory pause and turn. On the wall opposite the Tardis, there was a long, jagged crack that looked almost like a mouth. White light and steam leaked from it.

"Not here. Not now." The Doctor murmured. "It's getting wider."

"The crack on my bedroom wall." Amy said.

"And the Byzantium. All through the universe, rips in the continuum. Some sort of space-time cataclysm. An explosion, maybe. Big enough to put cracks in the universe. But what?"

"A very Big Bang," Ember said. The Doctor barely heard her, wondering if it was just a metaphor or if she was giving a hint.

Amy checked the stopwatch. "Four minutes fifty. We have to go."

"The Angels laughed when I didn't know. Prisoner Zero knew. Everybody knows except me."

"Doctor, just leave it!"

"But where there's an explosion, there's shrapnel..."

Rory saw the Doctor pull out a red handkerchief. "Doctor, you can't put your hand in there!"

The Doctor put the handkerchief over his hand. "Why not?"

To his surprise, the handkerchief was snatched off his hand. He looked just in time to see Ember put it over her own right hand, and then she stuck her arm into the crack before he could stop her.

It was like putting her arm in a bathtub of boiling hot water. She let out a cry but didn't pull away, putting her left hand against the wall.

The Doctor quickly went to her side and put his arms around her waist, about to pull her away when she spoke. "No, wait! I need to get it!"

"Get what?" Rory called, voicing everyone's thought.

"I think I got it!"

"Got what?" Amy asked. "What is it?"

Ember tried to pull her arm back out, but she needed the Doctor to help her. Worh one combined effort they both fell back, looking at the object now wrapped in the handkerchief, still smoking and sizzling. "A piece of the puzzle," was what Ember said. Her hand stung, like she really had put it in boiling water, but other than that it seemed fine.

Rory heard a hiss and turned, shocked to find Restac at the mouth of the tunnel. She was crawling and dragging herself, but she looked furious. "Doctor?"

"She was there when the gas started." Amy surmised as the Doctor pulled Ember and himself to their feet. No one noticed him sneak the handkerchief and whatever was wrapped in it into his jacket. "She must have been poisoned!"

"You!" The reptilian rasped, glaring at the Doctor.

The Doctor gently handed Ember to Rory. "Okay, get in the Tardis, all of you."

"You did this!" Restac weakly lifted her weapon, pointing it at the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Rory made a snap decision, pushing the Doctor out of the way. He ended up taking the full force of the shot, collapsing to the ground with a cry of pain.

"Rory!" Amy cried, running to his side.

Ember looked over at Restac, seeing her nearly still. "Whatever gods you believe in, I hope they're kind to you."

Restac didn't get to answer, and finally gave in to her injuries, breathing her last.

"Rory, can you hear me?" The Doctor said, moving to the man's side and scanning him with the Sonic.

Rory grunted in pain. "I don't understand..."

"Shush. Don't talk." Amy said before looking at the Time Lord. "Doctor, is he okay? We have to get him onto the Tardis!"

"We were on the hill." Rory gasped as Ember moved to kneel beside him. "I can't die here."

Ember shook her head, forcing back the tears. "Time can be rewritten. I..."

"Don't say that!" Amy snapped at her. "He's going to be fine! You wouldn't have let this happen if he wasn't going to be fine!"

"Amy..." The Doctor began, but was cut off.

"No! Ember, tell me he's gonna be fine!"

The brunette shook her head. "I... I'm sorry, Amy, but he won't... He has to-"

"No! You knew this was going to happen! Why didn't you stop it!?"

"It has to go this way!" Ember said at last, the tears falling. "It's going to be fine later, but not now, I'm sorry!"

Rory shakily took Amy's hand to get her attention. "You're so beautiful... I'm sorry..."

With that, he breathed his last.

"Doctor..." Amy choked out, "help him..."

The Doctor was about to speak when something caught his attention: tendrils of light from the crack in the wall had reached out and were wrapping around Rory's feet. "Amy, move away from the light. If it touches you, you'll be wiped from history. Amy, move away now."

"No!" Amy said, not even looking at him as he stood up. "I am not leaving him! We have to help him!"

"The light's already around him. We can't help him."

"I am not leaving him!"

Ember put her hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Amy, come on-"

"Don't touch me!" Amy snapped, shaking off the hand.

"We have to-"

"No!"

The Doctor had no choice but to grab the redhead, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her up. "I'm sorry!"

Instantly Amy kicked out, trying to break free. "Get off me!"

The Doctor continued apologising as he dragged Amy back to the Tardis. Ember moved to open the door for him, waiting for him to get Amy inside before closing the door.

"Get off me! No!" Amy shouted through tears. She made to go back to the door when the Doctor used his Sonic to deadlock it, preventing her from getting out, though it didn't stop her from hammering on the wood. "No! No! No! No! Let me out! Please let me out! I need to get to Rory!"

Ember made to try to stop her, only for the redhead to shove her hard, making her fall on her backside. "Amy-"

"You let him die!" Amy shouted at her. "Why the hell did you do that!"

"Because I've been to the future! I know it! It has to be this way!" Ember pushed herself to her feet. "But he'll be back, Amy. Not for a while, and it'll be like he was never here, but he will come back!"

"Never here..." Amy turned to the large screen on the wall, which was showing a live feed of just outside. The tendrils of light were quickly covering Rory's body, already up to his waist. "That light. If his body's absorbed, I'll forget him. He'll never have existed." She turned to the Doctor, who was standing at the console and not looking at them. "You can't let that happen!"

The Doctor paused for only a moment before he pulled a lever, setting the Tardis into motion. The image on the screen vanished.

"What are you doing?" Amy cried, running up to the console and trying to reverse everything the Doctor was doing. However, nothing seemed to work. "Doctor, no! No! No! No! Doctor, we can't just leave him there!"

The Doctor stopped her from doing something to the console, making her face him. "Keep him in your mind! Don't forget him! If you forget him, you'll lose him forever!"

Amy shook her head through her tears. "When we were on the Byzantium, I still remembered the Clerics because I am a time traveller now, you said!"

"They weren't part of your world. This is different. This is your _own history_ changing!"

"Don't tell me it's going to be okay! You have to _make_ it okay!"

"It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Amy." The Doctor kissed her on the forehead and guided her to the jumpseat. "Tell me about Rory, eh? Fantastic Rory. Funny Rory. Gorgeous Rory. Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Amy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this!"

"I can't..."

"You can. You can do it. I can't help you unless you do. Come on. We can still save his memory. Come on, Amy. Please. Come on, Amy, come on. Amy, please. Don't let anything distract you. Remember Rory. Keep remembering. Rory's only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind!"

Suddenly, the Tardis jolted, sending them to the floor. Ember was holding onto the railing in anticipation, so she was able to stay upright. She watched as the Doctor rolled to see the red velvet ring box that held the engagement ring Rory had given Amy: He'd left it on the console, but it was now on the floor next to him.

Amy stood first, suddenly not as upset as she was a moment ago. "What were you saying?"

The Doctor grabbed the ring box and put it in his jacket as he stood, looking at Ember. The brunette merely shook her head.

Mo appeared at the top of the steps leading out of the console room, along with Ambrose and Elliot. "I have seen some things today, but this is beyond mad."

Amy looked at the stopwatch. "Doctor. Five seconds till it all goes up!"

The Doctor ran to the doors, followed by everyone else, to find themselves back in the graveyard. They ran around the church to look at the drilling station just in time to see it explode. Afterward, they made their way back.

"All Nasreen's work just erased." Amy said.

"Good thing she's not here to see it." Mo pointed out as he followed the redhead and his son. "She's going to give Tony hell when they wake up."

The Doctor and Ember were to one side, standing under an arch with Ambrose. She turned to look at them. "You could've let those things shoot me. You saved me."

"An eye for an eye. It's never the way." The Doctor replied. "Now you show your son how wrong you were, how there's another way."

"Show him that there is always a choice," Ember added.

"You make him the best of humanity, in the way you couldn't be."

Ambrose reluctantly nodded, watching as the Time Lords walked away.

They caught up with Amy and headed back to the Tardis, though the redhead was able to pick up their sombre vibe. "You're very quiet. Oh. Hey, look. There I am again. Hello, me!"

The Doctor watched her as her face fell for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"I thought I saw someone else there for a second." Amy shook it off, turning to go to the Tardis. "I need a holiday. Didn't we talk about Rio?"

"You go in. Just fix this lock. Keeps jamming."

"You boys and your locksmithery." Amy shook her head with a soft laugh as she stepped into the Tardis.

As soon as the door was closed, the Doctor let the facade drop. He pulled out the handkerchief that he'd put in his jacket, though before he could unwrap it, Ember put her hand on his arm to make him look at her.

"Doctor, you're not going to like what you're about to see." She said softly. "But... you need to see it. This is an important piece of the puzzle."

Confused, the Doctor unwrapped the bundle. What was revealed shocked him to the core.

It was charred piece of wood, blue on one side and white on the other. But the word 'police' on the white side gave away what it was. To further prove it, the Doctor held it up to the white sign on the Tardis door, the piece matching the corner of the sign perfectly. "It can't be..."

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Ember murmured. "But it's true."

The Doctor lowered the piece, turning to face the brunette. "And Rory? You said that he'll be back. How can that be possible?"

"Small things that don't happen very often. You call them miracles." Ember bit her lip and then shook her head, waving a hand at the charred wood. "What causes that is also going to bring him back. Until then... Amy won't remember him."

She opened the Tardis and walked in, leaving him frowning after her.

* * *

When he finally found her hours later, he wasn't surprised to see that she was once again in the dojo. Amy had gone to bed after he'd promised to take her to Rio when she woke up. To be honest, he was glad that she'd left him alone; he wasn't really in the mood to put up the facade while she was around.

Back to Ember, she was sat in the centre of the dojo, cross legged and eyes closed. Before her were three objects: a lit candle, a small bowl of water and a plant pot full of soil, evenly spaced apart in front of her. The Doctor watched silently as the brunette breathed deep, seemingly unaware of his presence.

Ember was concentrating on the three objects in front of her, trying to gauge how well she could sense each item. The fire was easy, followed by the water. The soil was hardest, like she'd expected. It probably didn't help that this soil wasn't on its original planet, but she couldn't be certain. She tried to focus her attention on the dirt, to try to do more than just sense it.

The Doctor quietly walked closer, keeping his steps light so as not to draw attention. He watched as the candle's flame flickered a bit and water trembled in the bowl before both settled. It was the pot of soil that remained active, shaking slightly in its place before suddenly tipping over. The soil, being fairly loose, spilt out over the floor, though a moment later it evened out and flattened like someone was patting it down. Then, before his eyes, the soil became less loose and more solid, and then a crack appeared in it before it broke up into pieces, some of them rolling away. One piece rolled and broke apart when it hit his shoe.

Ember froze instantly. She'd sensed the soil becoming firmer under her manipulation and then breaking apart, so she'd felt it when one of the pieces made contact with something. She turned and opened her eyes, looking for the source, to find the Doctor. "Oh!"

"Hello." The Doctor said. "Thought I'd come check on you. Haven't seen you for a while."

"Has it been long?"

"A few hours."

Ember blinked. "Oh. Didn't feel like it."

"What are you doing?"

"Practising." Ember turned to look at the candle and bowl of water. "Fire is practically second nature now, and water isn't too far behind. Earth is still a bit iffy, so I want to get that under control a bit better in case I need it soon. It would have really helped the last time. Maybe I would have been able to do more."

Nodding, the Doctor moved to her side and held out his hand. "I want to show you something. Come on."

Puzzled, Ember took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. He led her out of the dojo, down the corridor and to the console room, where he then went to the doors leading out of the Tardis. He opened the door but didn't leave, turning instead to look at Ember and gesture with his head for her to go first.

Ember slowly stepped out of the door, and her eyes took in their surroundings. They'd landed in what looked like a wheat field, with a barn to one side and a traditional farmhouse on the other. It was sunny, but a cool breeze made it feel almost perfect.

Ember heard rustling in to the left, and turned just as someone stepped out from behind a nearby tree. To her surprise, it was a Silurian. Female for sure, she wore armour that gave away her status as a warrior, but there was a strip of cloth around her waist that was red. She had no gun, but instead a bow and arrow that was botched and ready to be drawn.

The Silurian looked at Ember with wide eyes before she opened her mouth and one word came out. "Mother..."

The brunette tilted her head, looking at the woman carefully before it suddenly hit her. She'd seen this Silurian before, but she'd been younger. "Alaya?"

With a smile, the Silurian unnotched her arrow and returned it to the quiver on her back. "You remember me, Mother, after all this time..."

"Uh..." Ember looked behind her at the Doctor for help, but the other Time Lord was leaning against the closed door of the Tardis with a relaxed expression. "How long...?"

"It's been one thousand and twelve years," The Doctor replied. "Twelve years since the Silurians woke from their sleep and returned to the surface. The humans were remarkably accepting of them, like they knew they were coming."

Ember looked at Alaya, who'd stopped just a few feet away from her now. "Wow. So... you survived."

"You were watching over me, Mother." Alaya said, repeating her earlier statement. "I was placed into a healing pod, which became cryosleep. When I awoke, it was to a bright new world."

"So... you live here?"

This time Alaya nodded. "The attack of that female human was consisted of electricity. While it did not cripple me, it left me unfit to take my sister's place as commander. I have, as the apes would say, somewhat retired."

Ember nodded her head at the bow. "And that?"

"Hunting for my lunch. I have grown quite fond of what you call a rabbit."

"Hmm," The brunette paused, biting her lip. "I'm sorry about your sister."

Alaya looked away. "While I understand her anger at the time, I know now that she was not willing to accept what had become of our planet. She chose her own path."

The trio stood in silence for a few moments before Alaya finally straightened, and then she surprised Ember by dropping to a knee and bowing her head.

"I will not let your mercy go to waste, Mother." She promised.

"Please, call me Ember." The brunette said as the reptilian woman stood. "Um, what happened to Tony and Nasreen? The ape... I mean humans that were with you."

The Doctor took that one. "They helped organise the reintroduction of the Silurians to the surface. Then they retired." He looked over the wheat field and then pointed. "Look, there they are!"

Ember followed his pointing, to see that he was right: two humans were now standing outside the farmhouse. She recognised them as Tony and Nasreen, though they looked at least ten years older now. They were both waving, Nasreen beckoning them over.

"I decided to share their dwellings," Alaya said. "I help them when it is needed, as they are getting a bit too old for the more active tasks."

Ember looked at the Doctor, who had now moved to stand beside her. "Can we go see them? I know you don't like coming back to visit, but..."

"I think I can make an exception," the Doctor said, taking her hand. "Let's go have a chat with the former ambassadors of human life on Earth."

"Thanks, by the way," Ember added, making him look at her. "For showing me this."

The Doctor shrugged. "Well, I wanted to show you that your efforts weren't in vain. Come on, then. I haven't had rabbit in this incarnation yet. Be interesting to try it."

"Just don't spit it on the floor if you don't like it."

They laughed as they followed Alaya to the farmhouse, across a wheat field shared by humans and Silurians.

* * *

Okay, and that was part two! I added the last scene on a whim, mainly to try to stretch my legs on using my own content, even if it's small to start with. I have plans to add a few scenes or possibly even an adventure or two of my own imaginings in future chapters.

Happy New Year to you all!

Next Time: It's time for Ember to meet another of the Doctor's oldest enemies. But will they be what she expected? Or will they have a few surprises for her? It's another two-parter, so stay tuned!


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Dark Water

And here we go with another two-parter! Getting through a lot of them lately, aren't I? Hope you're enjoying it, though!

Oh, and remember when I said that this series of the saga is gonna be about 25 chapters? Weeeell... its probably gonna be at least a couple of chapters more. One or two of the chapters so far weren't gonna be in it, but I added them last minute.

So anyway, here we go!

* * *

Chapter 18: Dark Water

* * *

Ember ended up spending nearly a week with the Doctor and Amy before she jumped next. It was hard to act like nothing was wrong - Rory dying and being erased from history - but they managed, though it was made much easier since Amy didn't remember her fiancé. The Doctor had taken them to a few safer places where they could relax, though Ember knew it was also through a slight guilt on his part.

When she jumped, she was dressed in black jeans, a white, short sleeved t-shirt and red sneakers, along with her signature denim jacket. She looked around, and was just able to spot the Twelfth Doctor on the other side of the console, working on a piece of machinery. "Oh, hello."

The Doctor looked up and smiled, putting down the thing he was working on and walking over to her, surprising the brunette by hugging her. "It's good to see you."

"Right back at you," Ember said, looking up at him once he stepped back. "So what's going on?"

"Why would something be going on?" The Doctor said, turning away to go back to the thing he was working on.

Ember followed, raising a brow. "Because you're a bit off. Something's happened."

There was a pause, and then the Doctor sighed. "I never could hide it from you." He turned to face the brunette again. "Clara called me a little while ago. She said that everything is fine, but I don't think so."

"You think something happened?"

"Something very serious. Otherwise she would have told me." The Doctor tilted his head. "Our last adventure was when the forest decided to save Earth from a solar flare."

That made Ember pause, thinking about what would be next that was serious. Then she paled. "Oh, no..."

"What is it?"

"This is going to be bad. On so many levels. We need to talk."

* * *

Ember had given the Doctor a briefing on what had happened and what Clara was going to try to do, helping him set everything up. Then the door opened and the girl herself stepped in. She looked fairly cheerful, but it didn't quite reach her eyes as she looked at the Time Lords. "Good to see you, Ember. Doctor, start her up."

"Where are we going?" The Doctor asked.

"Away."

"From?"

"Just away."

The Doctor took Ember's hand and squeezed it twice, noticing Clara go down the stairs to the lower level. "Well, normally you say work or kids or dishes or dullness. So what's happened?"

"A volcano." Clara said before she disappeared from view.

"I'm sorry?"

"I've never seen an active volcano, do you know one?"

"What's so great about seeing a volcano?" The Doctor asked. "It's just a sort of leaky mountain."

Clara reappeared at the steps on the other side of the room, briefly pausing at a coat that hung on a coat rack while the Doctor had his back to her. "I've never seen lava."

"It's rubbish."

"Prove it."

Ember squeezed his hand twice, letting him know that she had also noticed. The Doctor turned to look at Clara as she came back up the steps. "If that's what you want."

"It is."

Nodding, the Doctor let Ember go to work at the console, setting them in flight. Clara, in the meantime, went up the steps to the upper galley to go to one of the bookcases.

"Do you still have those sleep patch things?" The young woman called.

"You can't have one." The Doctor said.

"I'm having trouble sleeping."

"You still can't have one."

"Can I have one?"

"No, you can't have one." By now he was positioned back next to Ember, both of them with their backs to where Clara was coming back down the steps. The Tardis stilled. "So, volcano. What's so good about lava?"

Clara didn't answer, and as soon as she got near enough, she took two of the patches she'd found and slapped them on the Time Lords' necks.

What she didn't know was that they weren't sleep patches, and the Doctor swiftly grabbed Clara's hand and put the patch on her palm as Ember pulled hers off.

* * *

From Clara's point of view, they were now outside the Tardis, which was now standing near a rather violent volcano. Lava spat up and rocks flew, luckily landing away from them. Clara was standing near the ledge that overlooked the flowing lava, her coat missing, leaving her in a short dress and pumps. When she realised they were awake, she held out her right hand, where seven normal looking keys were in her palm. The Doctor and Ember, who she though to be knocked out by the patches, woke up at the foot of the blue box and looked around in confusion.

The Doctor made sure that Ember was alright before he looked at the human. "Clara?"

"It's on your neck."

Ember made a show of feeling her neck, though she knew nothing was there. The Doctor did the same.

"You told me once what it would take to destroy a Tardis key." Clara said. She no longer looked cheerful. "_That's_ what's so good about lava. All seven. From all of your hiding places."

The Doctor saw her take one of the keys and hold it up. "Clara, what are you doing? Don't. Be very, very careful with that. Those are very, very-"

Clara threw the key over her shoulder. It hit the lava and sank with a sizzle. The Tardis Cloister Bell tolled once in warning. "Do I have your attention?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"No. Not good, Clara."

Ember took a step forward. The sound of the Tardis Cloister bell made a shiver go through her, but it wasn't fear: it was anger. "You really need to think about this."

"Danny Pink." Clara said.

The Doctor put out his arm to stop Ember from getting closer. "Yeah?"

"Is dead."

"...And?"

"Seriously?"

"And?" The Doctor said again.

"And fix it. Change it. Change what happened. Save him. Bring him back." Clara picked up another key, holding it up.

"No."

Clara threw the key into the lava. "Five left. Every time either of you say no to me, I will throw another key down there. Do we understand each other?"

"Well, I understand you. Let's not get carried away."

"Time can be rewritten. Ember told me that."

"With precision. With great care. And not today. But you know that of course, otherwise you wouldn't be threatening me."

Ember tilted her head. "You're not thinking straight, or about the consequences of what you're doing. You're walking on dangerous ground."

Clara raised a brow as she picked up the third key. "Did you just say no?"

"If we change the events that brought you here, you will never come here and ask me to change those events." The Doctor explained quickly. "Paradox loop. The timeline disintegrates. Your timeline. And yes!"

"Yes?"

"Yes. She did just say no. Throw away the key."

Clara didn't throw the key. "I have seen you change time, I have seen you break any rule you want."

"I know when I can, I know when I can't. Throw the key."

"I know what you're doing. You're trying to take control."

"I am in control. Throw away the key. Do as you are told."

"No!"

"Well, either you do as you're told or stop threatening us." The Doctor laid out the choices. "There really isn't a third option here."

"Do you know what, Doctor? When it comes to taking control, you really are out of your depth." Clara moved her right hand this time, throwing the other four keys into the lava, which left the one she was holding up with her left hand. "One last chance. And I don't care about the rules, I don't give a damn about paradoxes. Save Danny. Bring him back or I swear... you will never step inside your Tardis again." She looked at Ember. "You knew he'd die, didn't you? Why didn't you stop it?"

Ember tried to pass the Doctor, but he kept his arm in front of her to stop her from advancing. That bubble of anger was beginning to simmer, just below the surface, but she was able to keep it at bay because she knew what was really happening. "Everything has its time, Clara. And everything ends. Sooner or later, everyone dies."

"But not you. You're the one person who must never die." Clara shot back before looking at the Doctor. "And why is that? Is she special or is it because she's your-"

"Clara Oswald, do not finish that sentence!" The Doctor cut her off sharply, which made Ember look at him in puzzlement. She knew it was serious, because Clara obeyed him. "She's not at that point yet and you know it."

"You're right. She didn't tell me or Danny that he was going to die: it's only fair that she doesn't know what's coming for her."

Those words made a cold shiver go through Ember. What was that supposed to mean?

"Last chance," Clara said, holding the key slightly higher to emphasise her point. "Are you going to give me what I want?"

The Doctor took a breath and held his ground. "No."

"Do as you are told."

"No."

"Say it again so I know you mean it."

"No!"

"I'm not kidding, Doctor."

"Neither am I."

"I will do it!"

The Doctor tilted his head. "No, no, my Clara. I don't think you will!"

At that taunt and the attempted lunge for the remaining key, Clara tossed it into the lava. They watched it sink into the molten rock.

"Oh. I'd say I'm sorry but I'd do it again. I'd do it again..." Clara fell to her knees and sobbed before looking at the Time Lords. "Well, what are you doing? Why are you just standing there? Do you understand what I have just done?"

To her surprise, the Doctor no longer looked angry or scared. He was calm. "Look in your hand."

"There's nothing in my hand!"

"Clara, look in your hand."

"The keys, they're gone! They're down there! They've gone!"

"Clara, look in your hand!"

"There's nothing in my hand!"

Ember moved to kneel beside the distraught woman, now calm as well. "Oh, Clara... did you really think I would have just stood there and let you do that?"

Clara looked at her through tears and smudged makeup. "What?"

"Right now, I can control fire, water and earth. Did you not once think that I'd do something to stop you from destroying those keys? Like made the lava cool down or make the earth move to save them?" Ember smiled. She wasn't certain she _could_ do those things yet, but Clara didn't need to know that. "Did you really think I'd let you take the most precious thing to the Doctor away from him?"

"Not the most," Clara muttered. "If I wanted to take the most precious thing to him, I'd have threatened to throw you in there."

Ember glanced at the Doctor, who mouthed 'Spoilers' to her. She looked back at Clara and gently took her right hand, turning it palm up. "You were so busy getting the keys that you didn't notice that we hadn't even landed. Look at your hand, Clara."

Clara did so, surprised when she saw a patch on the palm of her hand. How did...?

"Did you seriously think that that was going to work on us?" The Doctor said softly as Ember pulled Clara to her feet. "Did you think that Ember wouldn't have warned me? They're not sleep patches. They induce a dream state."

He took Clara's hand and removed the patch, which made the scenery disappear. They were back in the Tardis, still in flight.

"Makes you very suggestible." The Doctor continued, turning to go pick up the keys that were scattered around the floor of the console level. "I allowed the whole scenario to play out just as you planned. I was curious about how far you would go."

"...Well, now you know." Clara said at last, not resisting as the Doctor quickly scanned her with his Sonic.

"Yeah. Now I know."

"I love him."

"Yes, you're quite the mess of chemicals, aren't you?"

"So, what now? What do we do now? You and me, what happens now?" He didn't answer at first, going to the other side of the console and flicking switches. "Doctor?"

The Doctor didn't speak for a moment before before he looked at the woman. The Tardis landed properly this time. "Go to hell."

Clara nodded, unable to meet his gaze. "Fair enough. Absolutely fair enough."

She was making her way to the door leading out when the Doctor spoke again, making her look back. "Clara? You asked me what we're going to do. I told you. We're going to hell. Or wherever it is people go when they die. If there is anywhere. Wherever it is, we're going to go there and we're going to find Danny. And if it is in any way possible, we're going to bring him home. Almost every culture in the universe has some concept of an afterlife. I always meant to have a look around, see if I could find one."

Clara watched him walk around the console, her face showing her surprise. "You're going to help me?"

"Well, why wouldn't I help you?"

"Because of what I just did! I just-"

"You betrayed us." The Doctor cut her off. "Betrayed my trust, you betrayed our friendship, you betrayed everything that Ember and I have ever stood for. You let us down!"

"Then why are you helping me?" Clara asked.

The Doctor looked at her. "Why? Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference? Stop it with the eyes. Don't do that with the eyes. How do you do that anyway? It's like they inflate. Cut out the whining while you're at it. We've got work to do. This is it, Clara, one of those moments."

Clara looked at Ember, who smiled and shrugged. "What moments?"

"The darkest day. The blackest hour. Chin up, shoulders back. Let's see what we're made of, you and I." He moved back to the console, Clara following. "Switching off the safeguards, turning off the nav-com. Remember, we did this before. We plugged you into the Tardis telepathic interface."

Clara nodded. "We ended up all over Danny's timestream."

"Because you and he are linked. Strongly linked. Your timestreams are intertwined. So if he's anywhere at all, that link will hold. Give me your hands."

"Doctor-"

"We're in a hurry."

"...I don't deserve a friend like you."

"Clara, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm exactly what you deserve." He took her hands and made her put them in the orange goop in the open section of the console. "Think about Danny. Think about the man you lost. Let it hurt. Let it burn. But don't bleat. Don't ask, why him? Why me? Forget all that. Ask one question. Just one. Ask, where is Danny Pink now? Where is he now?"

Clara closed her eyes and thought hard. Then the Time Rotor started up.

The Doctor looked up. "Well... the Tardis thinks he's somewhere."

The place shook, but a few minutes later, everything stilled.

"Where are we?" Clara asked.

The Doctor looked at the monitor, frowning. "Nav-com's offline. We'll have to do this old school."

"But this is where Danny is?"

"Almost certainly not. It's where there's a connection with Danny. According to the Tardis, this is where it's most likely that your timeline will re-intersect with his. And that won't do."

Now Clara paused, seeing him point at her. "What won't?"

"You won't. Look at you. I need sceptical, clever, critical. I don't need mopey. It put years on your face. And what if people see us together? It looks like you've been melted."

"Are you forgetting why we're here?"

"We're here to get your boyfriend back from the dead, so buck up and give me some attitude."

The two made to walk to the doors, only to stop as Ember stood in the way.

"I have to warn you both, before we go out there," she said. Her eyes flashed silver for a moment, and they knew just from that alone that she was serious. "When you step outside those doors, you're going to see things. Bad things. Some old faces will turn up, and one or two new ones too. You're going to have to make choices, and those choices will have a heavy impact."

Clara stepped forward. "If it lets me see Danny again, I'll risk it."

Ember looked torn. "I really, really wish I could tell you not to go. I really wish I could tell you to get away from here and never come back. But..."

"We won't like what we'll see, but we still have to see it, don't we?" The Doctor said, remembering the multiple times she'd told him that in the past.

"... yes. It can't wait any longer. Here's a hint: there's something in the tanks. But for what it's worth... I'm sorry." Ember moved aside to give them room to get to the door.

The Doctor took her hand as he moved, squeezing in the hopes of reassuring her. She didn't return it.

The Tardis door opened, letting them out into what looked like a lobby. The lights were off, but there was enough light to see thanks to fire coming from a large urn that sat on a plinth at the top of a set of steps. The Tardis had parked between two of four pillars that were at the bottom of the steps.

The Doctor took out a small torch to shine it around, finding a small obelisk with a company logo on it - two rings with 3W in the centre - and the words 'Rest In Peace, We Promise' etched into the granite. The ceiling was high, like they were in a tall building, and the sound of water could be heard trickling somewhere. There was also faint blue lights above, like they were in an aquarium.

"Fish tanks?" Clara asked.

"In a mausoleum?" The Doctor countered as they walked up the steps to look at the urn. The same logo and motto was etched onto the plinth.

Clara eyed the words. "What does that mean?"

"It means those are definitely not fish tanks."

Ember gently tugged his hand, leading him and Clara to turn right at the urn and into a long corridor. Lined on the left side were several more tanks, each one with a stone chair and a skeleton sitting in it. The water seemingly prevented the bones from collapsing. The right side overlooked across the centre of the building, where they could see more tanks with skeletons in them.

"Why?" Clara asked, looking at the nearest one.

"I don't know." The Doctor admitted.

"Okay, I'm assuming they didn't actually drown in there."

The Doctor felt Ember squeeze his hand twice and saw her shake her head. "No. They were placed, after death. These are tombs. Water tombs, some sort of fluid, anyway."

"With chairs?"

"With chairs, yes. Extra comfort for the deceased. It pays to die rich."

Clara looked down to see a nameplate under the tank, the words 'Xylo Jones' etched into the metal. Then a thought struck her. "Oh, God. Am I going to find Danny now? Is that why the Tardis brought us here? I don't want to see him like that."

"Good point." The Doctor said. "Tombs with windows. Who wants to watch their loved ones rot? Why would anyone go to so much trouble just to keep watch on the dead?"

They walked on, Ember glancing back just in time to see one the skeletons turn its head to watch them before she was pulled away. In the next corridor was a small book on a lectern, which the Doctor opened to a blank page, making a motion on it that looked like zooming in, and what looked like a cube of light rose up from it. The Doctor pushed it into the corridor, which somehow made it open, and then soothing violin music began to play as words scrolled up. A female voice began to speak the words as they appeared.

"3W. Death is not an end. But we can help with that. Ever since 3W encountered the truth about the death experience, we have been working hard to find a better life for the deceased. At 3W, afterlife means aftercare."

"Okay." Clara said when the logo appeared, indicating that it wasn't going to continue speaking. "Bit strange?"

"Very. Why have the scrolling and a voice?" The Doctor raised his voice slightly, looking past the logo at a figure that was barely visible. "Is it difficult?"

"Is what difficult?"

"Reading all those words back to front. Come on. We've come a long way."

Ember watched as a woman wearing a Victorian dress and a small hat with fake berries on it appeared from seemingly nowhere, walking through the logo and making the hologram vanish. She had a bit of a Mary Poppins sort of look going for her.

"Hello." She said with barely any emotion, walking right up to them. Ember flinched back at the abrupt invasion of space. "I hope you're well. How may I assist you with your death?"

The Doctor stepped back, walking around the woman. "Well, there is, er, no immediate hurry. We're just, er... We're just..."

"Browsing." Clara offered as he passed her.

"Yeah, yeah, browsing."

"Please, take all the time you need." The woman said. "At 3W, you always have the rest of your life."

"Oh, good. That's good to know, Clara, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Great."

Ember stayed a step further away from the woman, though the Doctor barely noticed as he stopped, facing the woman. "Exactly what is 3W?"

"Apologies." The woman said. "Clearly you have not received the official 3W greetings package."

"Well, you know, it's just an unexpected-"

The Doctor was interrupted as the woman lunged at him, pushing him against the wall and kissing him intently. Clearly he had no idea what to do, as he flailed around a bit. Ember had to look away while Clara watched in shock as the woman pulled back slightly to kiss his nose three times before stepping back.

"Welcome to the 3W Institute." She said like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Clara... is it over now?" The Doctor almost whimpered, stock still against the wall.

Clara nodded. "I think it's over, yeah."

The woman turned to her. "You also have not received the official welcome package."

"Oh, I'm good, thanks! No worries."

Ember stepped back another step when the woman turned to her next. "Put your lips anywhere near me and I will barbecue you. I'll skip the welcome, thanks."

_'The only person I want to put their lips on me is him,'_ she thought, her eyes briefly going to the Doctor before she realised what she'd just thought. _'Where the hell did THAT come from?!'_

The woman tilted her head, but didn't try to approach her.

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked. He took note of how Ember was suddenly tense and seemingly not willing to take her eyes off this new person: she didn't normally have that kind of hostility towards someone unless she knew something about them.

The woman looked at him. "I am Missy."

Clara blinked. "Missy?"

"Mobile Intelligent Systems Interface. I am a multi-function, interactive welcome-droid. Helping you to help me to help you."

The Doctor pursed his lips. "You're very, uh... realistic."

"Tongues?" Clara teased.

"Shut up."

"I am fully programmed with social interaction norms appropriate to a range of visitors." Missy said, rolling the 'r' in 'range'. "Please indicate if you'd like me to adjust my intimacy setting."

"Oh, yes, please." The Doctor said, practically peeling himself off the wall. "Please do that. Do that right now."

"Maybe just a tad, yeah." Clara added.

"I need to speak to whoever's in charge here."

Missy looked at him. "I am in charge."

"Well, who's in charge of you?"

"I'm in charge of me."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Well, who repairs you? Who, who maintains you?"

"I am programmed for self-repair. I am maintained by my heart." Missy walked up to him and took his hand, pressing it against her chest. "Is everything in order?"

"Who maintains your heart?" The Doctor asked, frowning.

"My heart is maintained by the Doctor."

"Doctor who?"

Missy turned and raised her voice, the tone snippy and impatient. "Doctor Chang!"

The Doctor looked at his hand, still outstretched where Missy had put it and remaining there even as she walked away. Something about the woman was suspicious: Ember didn't seem to like her for a start. And that pulse he felt when his hand was on her chest... it was almost like she had...

"Who's there?" A male voice broke him from his chain of thought, and he, Clara and Ember looked to the owner; a man with big glasses and slicked back hair. He wore a blue suit. "Hello?"

"Hello." Clara said, then saw that the Doctor still had his hand out. "You can probably take your hand down now, Doctor."

The man - Chang - smiled. "So. Hey. Condolences."

"Condolences?"

"It's a mausoleum. It's our hello. Is there a particular dead person you want to talk to?"

The Doctor looked at Clara as she nodded. "Yes. Yes, there is."

Chang nodded, holding out an arm. "This way then."

As he walked away, the Doctor looked at Clara. "Are you okay?"

"No." Clara breathed, holding her hand out. He took it gently.

"Good. There would be something very wrong if you were." He then looked at Ember, who seemed to be looking at something intently. It couldn't have been a coincidence that it was in the same direction that Missy had left. "Ember? You alright?"

Ember shook her head and moved to his other side, letting him take her hand with his free one. "Ask me later."

The Doctor frowned, but didn't push her as he led them to follow Chang. It wasn't long before they reached an elevator, which took them to a rather large office, where there was another tank with a skeleton in it. The room had two desks - one to the side and one in front of the tank, while there was also a comfortable looking sofa, and it looked like the room expanded into a flat further back.

"Come in, come in." Chang said, walking over to the desk. "Going to need to take a reading off you."

Clara blinked. "A reading?"

"Won't hurt."

"What won't?"

"How does the body keep its integrity?" The Doctor called from where he was looking at the skeleton in the tank. He'd yet to let go of Ember's hand, giving her no choice but to follow him. "Why isn't it just a bunch of bones floating about?"

Chang look unsurprised by the question. "Each body is encased in a support exoskeleton."

"An invisible exoskeleton?" Clara asked.

"It's only invisible in the water. There's a specially engineered refraction index in the fluid so we can see the tank resident unimpeded by the support mechanisms."

The Doctor felt Ember squeeze his hand twice. "So each skeleton is inside something?"

"What if there isn't a body? No skeleton to put in one of these?" Ember asked.

Chang shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't know. I... don't really want to. I'm just in charge of this institute, to maintain the bodies."

Ember lowered her voice so only the Doctor heard her. "Maybe those that don't have bodies don't matter to them."

"Are you serious?" Clara said in disbelief, having not heard them. "X-ray water?"

"It's so cool. Look at this. We call it dark water." Chang demonstrated using a large jar of water that was next to the desk facing the tank. He put his arm into it, and his watch and the sleeve of his jacket seemingly vanished. The Doctor and Clara moved closer to look, while Ember stayed where she was. "Only organic matter can be seen through it. I keep saying they should use this stuff in swimming pools."

The Doctor looked puzzled as the man removed his arm from the jar and dried it off with a towel. "Why?"

"Think about it."

"I am thinking about it. Why?"

Ember shuddered at the thought. Great, now she was going to be testing the water every time she goes swimming from now on.

"Doesn't matter." Clara said, apparently not bothered about it; or maybe she was choosing not to think about it. "3W, what kind of name is that? What does it mean?"

The skeleton in the tank shifted its head to 'look' in their direction. Ember, being the only one who'd seen it, leveled it with a glare.

"Well, you know, don't you?" Chang said, unaware of what just happened. "You're here on business or they wouldn't have let you in. Sorry. Should have checked. Who are you?"

"I thought that you would never ask. Sort out your security protocols, they're a disgrace." The Doctor walked around the desk as he got out his psychic paper and handed it to the man.

Chang sighed at what he saw on it, though he was also puzzled. "Another government inspection? So soon? Why is there all this swearing?"

The Doctor took the paper back, moving to to the sofas and picking up a thin folder, though he didn't open it. "Oh, I've got a lot of internalised anger. What does 3W stand for?"

"Well, the three words."

"What three words?" Clara asked.

"Seriously? You don't know?"

The Doctor cut in before Clara could answer. "Never mind what we know and what we don't know, just answer our question."

Chang hesitated. "Because people who don't know, when they hear about this, they can freak out."

"We're not going to freak out."

"If you've had a recent loss, this might be... this _will be_ disturbing."

"She'll be fine."

"Speak for me again, I'll detach something from you." Clara said to the Doctor before looking at Chang. "I'll be fine."

After a moment, Chang went on, moving back to the other desk and pressing a switch on the wall. A clear computer screen on the desk swivelled to face him and the logo appeared on it. "You know how people are scared of dying? Like, everybody."

"Of course." The Doctor said. "It's the most fundamental fear in the universe."

"People are afraid of dying because they don't know what happens after," Ember said, making them look at her. She hadn't moved away from the tank or taken her eyes off the skeleton. "Is there a heaven, or hell, or nothing at all? Everyone fears the unknown."

"They'd be a lot more scared if they knew what it was really like." Change said, sitting at the desk. Clara and the Doctor sat in the two chairs opposite. A fuzzy sound came from the screen, like it hadn't been tuned in. "White noise off the telly. We've all heard it. A few years ago, Doctor Skarosa, our founder-" he nodded to the skeleton "-did something unexpected. He played that noise through a translation matrix of his own devising. This is a recording of what he heard."

Clara furrowed her brow when she heard indistinct murmuring of countless voices. "Okay, people, voices."

"So what?" The Doctor said.

Chang sighed. "Over time, Doctor Skarosa became convinced these were the voices of the recently departed. He believed it was a telepathic communication from the dead."

"Why? Was he an idiot?"

"He was able to isolate some of the voices, hear what they were saying."

"So... an idiot then."

"Shut up, Doctor." Clara said as the sound was cut off.

Chang then hesitated. "What I'm about to play you will change your life and not for the better. These are the three words which caused Doctor Skarosa to set up institutes, like this one, all over the world, to protect the dead. If you'd rather not hear these words, there's still time-"

"Can you just hurry up, please, or I'll hit you with my shoe." The Doctor said impatiently.

Chang pressed a button to play the recording. A single voice came through: a male who sounded panicked and scared. Ember clamped her hands over her ears the moment it started, trying not to listen as she closed her eyes tightly.

_"Don't cremate me!"_ He cried. It sounded like he was sobbing. _"Don't cremate me!"_

"There is one simple, horrible possibility that has never occurred to anyone throughout human history." Change said.

_"Don't cremate me! Don't cremate me!"_

"Don't say it." Clara warned.

Chang didn't heed her. "The dead remain conscious. The dead are fully aware of everything that is happening to them."

_"Don't cremate me! Don't cremate me!"_

"ENOUGH!"

The three sat at the desk jumped not only at the shout, but at the jar of water suddenly shattering, spilling water everywhere.

The Doctor was the first to recover and turned to look at who'd shouted. Ember was crouched down, her hands covering her ears and her eyes screwed shut. Before her, the glass of the tank had a massive spider web of cracks in it, though it couldn't have been very deep because the water in the tank wasn't leaking out. He got up quickly and went to her side, putting his arm around her and gently easing her to her feet, feeling her tremble against him.

Chang was at least smart enough to turn off the sound file. "Um, I'm not sure what just happened."

"Freak coincidence." The Doctor said flippantly as he guided Ember to the door. "And she probably just needs a bit of fresh air." He didn't wait for a reply, leaving the room and closing the door behind them, and then he turned to the brunette in his arms. "Ember, come on, talk to me."

"I'm sorry," Ember murmured, finally taking her hands off her ears. "I dunno what happened. I just... that voice..."

The Doctor took one of her hands and squeezed it. "Is it true? Are the dead really here?"

"... in a sense, yes. But there's more to it. They're not being left alone. It's like... they don't have to be there..." Ember took a breath and straightened. "I think I'm okay now. Just... don't make me hear that again, please."

Nodding, the Doctor squeezed her hand again before leading her back into the office. Chang and Clara had by now put the towel he'd used earlier on the floor to soak up the spilled water while they waited for someone to come and clear it up properly.

"Fakery!" The Doctor said as soon as they walked in. He made Ember sit on the sofa before walking to the two humans. "All of it. It's a con, it's a racket!"

"I promise you this is not a con." Chang said.

"What's that beeping?" Clara asked, having heard it start as they talked.

The Doctor waved it off. "Never mind about beeping. Who cares about beeping? The dead are dead. They're not talking to you out of your television sets. They're just gone, and all these poor souls down there in these tanks, I'm sorry, but they're just dead and they're not coming back."

Chang moved to the device that was beeping: a strange metal sphere on his desk, and then a voice came out from the monitor. The trio instantly recognised it as Danny.

_"Clara? Clara? Clara, are you there?"_

"Danny!" Clara gasped, running to the desk and sitting down. "I can hear you! Is that you? Oh, please, say it's you!"

_"That's her, that's Clara!"_

_"Yeah, you're really lucky."_ Another male voice said, one they didn't recognise._ "It hardly ever happens."_

There was a fizzle, and the words 'Not connected' appeared on the screen.

"Just lost the signal." Chang said, messing with the sphere again. "But I can track it back, I'm pretty sure."

Clara shook her head. "I don't, I don't understand. What is happening?"

"We've been scanning you telepathically since you came in. You said you wanted to speak to someone who'd passed, and we've found you a match in the Nethersphere."

"This isn't possible." The Doctor said. "The dead don't come back."

Ember looked up in time to see the skeleton in the tank stand up.

"It was him. It was his voice." Clara insisted.

The Doctor moved to her side. "If they scanned you telepathically, they could've lifted a voice print. It could still be a fake."

"Getting him back..." Chang said. "...very nearly..."

Then the signal came back, and Danny spoke. _"__Clara, can you hear me?"_

"Yes, Danny, I can hear you. Can you hear me?"

_"Yeah, yeah, I can hear you. Clara! Oh, God..."_

"What do I do?" Clara asked the Doctor.

_"Who are you talking to?"_

"Hang on just a moment."

The Doctor lowered his voice to make sure Danny didn't hear him. "Question him. Ask him questions only he'd know the answer to. Be sure." He then pointed at Chang. "You, with me."

"Where are you going?"

"I've got to check out those tanks. There's something that I'm missing."

_"Clara?"_

"Sceptical and critical, remember? Be strong, even if it breaks your heart."

"Connection's stabilised. It should be okay." Chang said to Clara.

The Doctor took Ember's hand to pull her with him as he walked back to the door. "Who would harvest dead bodies? I feel like I'm missing something... obvious..."

The three of them went into the elevator, which took them to one of the levels with the tanks. What they saw startled them; the skeletons in each tank was now standing, and the water was bubbling with a low hum coming from somewhere.

"Oh, my God!" Chang said. "The tanks... The tanks are activating! They're not supposed to do that!"

"And all your dead people are standing." The Doctor said, moving quickly down the corridor. "Don't you think you skipped the headline?"

Suddenly, Missy appeared from an adjoining corridor, standing between Chang and the Time Lords. "Now, now, children. Naughty, naughty."

The Doctor came back, taking Ember's hand as he saw her tense again. "Doctor Chang, your welcome droid has developed a fault."

"That's not a droid. That's..." Chang stammered. "...my boss."

"You know, I might have been guilty of a just teensy little fibette." Missy said before she looked at the human. "Doctor Chang, I really liked working with you. I've enjoyed every day of it."

"I'm sorry?"

"You know, I've even got a little photograph of you looking so sweet. I'm always going to keep it. Always."

"...Are you going to kill me?"

Missy rolled her eyes. "Now, come on. Let's not dwell on horrid things. This is going to be our last conversation, and I'm the one who's going to have to live with that."

"Please don't kill me!"

"...Say something nice."

The Doctor pulled Ember behind him.

"P-please. I don't... I don't want to die!" Chang said, scared now. "You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"Say something nice." Missy said again.

"Please!"

"Doctor Chang, I've got all day. And I'm not going to kill you until you say something nice."

"It has been an absolute pleasure working with you, and I truly believe that you'll never be able to find it in your heart to murder me!"

Missy held up her device, about to use it, when suddenly a line of fire erupted between her and her target. She turned to see Ember, still partially behind the Doctor, holding out her hand, her pupils so small they were nearly invisible in liquid silver.

"Run, Chang! Get out!" The brunette yelled, keeping the flames up until the man turned and ran before letting it disperse, grabbing the Doctor's hand and pulling him back with her.

"Aww, you ruined it," Missy pouted, not bothering to stop them. "Now, I'll be with you in a moment. Just feeling a bit emotional at the moment..."

The Doctor looked at the tank nearest to them, seeing that the water level was dropping. It was now below the top of the skull, revealing the top of a silver, metal helmet that he recognised instantly. "Cybermen!"

The water reached the torsos, revealing a blue light in the centre of the chestplate.

"They're Cybermen, all of them!" The Doctor moved closer to Missy, not noticing how Ember let him do so. "We've got to stop them getting out!"

"Now who's missing the headline?" Missy asked. She then pointed to something above them, in the space in the centre of the building. "The Nethersphere. You know it's ever so funny, the people that live inside that think they've gone to heaven."

The Doctor looked up at a massive globe that looked almost like a speaker with red and gold lights inside it.

When Ember looked at it, she winced as her head throbbed painfully. For a moment she thought she was about to have a vision, but none came. Instead, she felt a near overbearing sense of grief, fear and anger that made her feel nauseous. She stumbled and leaned against the wall for support. Was she somehow feeling the minds inside, or was it something else?

"That's a matrix data-slice." The Doctor said, not noticing her predicament. "A Gallifreyan hard drive. Time Lord technology."

Missy moved to lean on the railing. "Imagine you could upload dying minds to that. Edit them. Rearrange them. Get rid of all those boring emotions. Ready to be re-downloaded. Meanwhile, you upgrade the bodies. Upload the mind, upgrade the body. Cybermen from cyberspace. Now, why has no-one ever thought of that before?"

The Doctor looked at her. "How did you get hold of Time Lord technology? Who are you?"

"You know who I am. I told you. You felt it." She made a gasp sound and put her hand on her chest. "Surely you did."

The Doctor remembered what he felt, or what he thought he'd felt. He moved around so that he was now closer to the elevator. "Two hearts..."

"And one of them yours. Guess who has the other one? Here's a hint: she's with us right now."

The Doctor looked at Ember, noticing that she was leaning heavily against the wall. "Ember!"

"Bingo!" Missy said, and then she looked at the brunette. "It's alright, love. Nostalgia can be a bit... overwhelming. Want me to kiss it better?"

Ember forced herself to straighten and moved around the woman, holding her hand out in warning as she reached the Doctor, who grabbed her to help steady her. "That barbecue is still an option."

"We both know you won't do it."

The Doctor spoke to draw the woman's attention to him and away from Ember. "You're a Time Lord."

"Time Lady, please, I'm... old-fashioned."

"Which Time Lady?"

"The one you abandoned, Doctor. The one you left for dead. Didn't you ever think I'd find my way back?"

The Doctor suddenly had a thought, turning to the elevator. "Clara. I've got to get Clara!"

Missy rolled her eyes. "Oh, Clara, Clara, Clara! You know, I should shoot you in a jealous rage. Now wouldn't that be sexy? I've turned the lift off, though."

"I presume you have stairs."

"Well, I'm not a Dalek."

The Doctor moved Ember with him to the door at the side, using the Sonic to open it. But when he opened the door, there were no stairs. Instead, he found himself going out of a door to St Paul's Cathedral in London, which surprised him. People walked about with no clue what was happening in the building.

Missy calmly followed them, putting her hand the Doctor's shoulder. "Oh, dear, Doctor. Didn't you realise where you were?"

Ember blinked, surprised when the nausea and bad feelings simply vanished like someone had flicked a switch. Was it because she was now away from that sphere?

The Doctor ran down the steps towards the unsuspecting crowd. "Get away from here! All of you, run!"

The sound of stomping feet made Ember turn and back away as the Cybers came from several directions, every entrance and exit from the Cathedral.

"Go! Go! Get away from here!" The Doctor kept yelling, Ember following. "Run away! Run, run! Get away from here all of you, now!"

To their surprise, Missy had somehow gotten ahead of them, sitting on some steps. "I'm sorry, everyone. Another ranting Scotsman in the street. I had no idea there was a match on."

The Doctor tried to ignore her. "Get away, go!"

Missy rolled her eyes and got up, going to his side and grabbing his arm. "Stop shouting, love. Stop making a fuss. It's too late. All the graves of planet Earth are about to give birth. You know the key strategic weakness of the human race? The dead outnumber the living."

The Doctor looked around before addressing her. "Who are you?"

"Oh, you know who I am. I'm Missy."

"Who's Missy?"

"Please, try to keep up. Short for Mistress. Well, I couldn't very well keep calling myself the Master, now could I?"

The Doctor stepped away from her, pulling Ember back behind him as he stared at the woman in horror. The Cybermen continued to advance.

* * *

And there's part one! Part two will be up between Wednesday and Thursday.

Next Time: Ember gets a hint of her own, and drives home the truth. But can she trust Missy? Stay tuned!


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Death In Heaven

And here's part two!

Warning; some swearing is in this one.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: Death In Heaven

* * *

"Look at them!" Missy said. "My boys."

The Doctor kept Ember behind him as he looked around. "Cybermen in broad daylight? You think people won't notice?"

People did notice, but they didn't run or panic. Instead, they took out their phones and began to take pictures or record videos. There was already quite a crowd.

Missy unpinned her hat from her hair and put it upside down at the feet of one of the Cybers. "Photos with the big metal men, one pound!" She grinned as several people threw coins into the hat. One teenage boy took a selfie with himself and his girlfriend. "Oh, honey!"

The Doctor looked at Ember as she moved to his side, though he badly wanted to keep her behind him. "Hints?"

"It only takes one spark to light a fire," Ember replied. "And old faces are about to appear. The darkest hour is coming, and the sky will burn. But not by me."

Missy moved to their side, holding out her little device for them to see screenshots of Cybers in several locations. "New York. Paris. Rome. Marrakesh. Brisbane. Glasgow. Everywhere. Anywhere. Me and my boys. We're going viral!"

"Would you like me to take a picture?" A woman asked. The three Time Lords turned to look at her, seeing the flower print shirt, dark blue jacket and red bow tie. Ember recognised her as one of the Osgood twins. "Sorry, selfies are never as good, are they? And you're having a lovely moment. Hang on!"

She snatched the device out of Missy's hand, much to the latter's confusion. "No, just-"

"Nice bow tie." The Doctor said as he grabbed Missy's arm to stop her.

The woman smiled as she held up the device like she was going to take a picture. "Bow ties are cool. Big smiles, and... now!"

Suddenly, the crowd of people who were ogling the Cybers dropped the act. Guns were pulled from bags, purses and even a pushchair with a fake baby in it. Armed soldiers came out from buildings on both sides.

Then, once they were secure, there was a parting in the crowd as a familiar blonde woman approached, flanked by two more soldiers, and she was holding something behind her back. It was none other than Katherine Lethbridge Stewart.

"Afternoon." She called. "You've picked a lovely day for it. My, don't you look shiny." She passed the Doctor. "Haircut?"

"Bit of a trim." The Doctor said offhandedly.

"Might want to do your roots. The woman."

"Yes, ma'am." Two soldiers took Missy by the arms and pulled her back.

Kate turned to the Cybers. "Kate Stewart. Divorcee, mother of two, keen gardener, outstanding bridge player. Also Chief Scientific Officer, Unified Intelligence Taskforce, who currently have you surrounded."

The Cyber at the front of the ranks spoke. _"Human weaponry is not effective against Cyber technology."_

"Sorry, you left this behind on one of your previous attempts." Kate dropped what she'd had behind her back: a battered Cyberman head that came from the Mondas era. She then gestured, prompting a soldier to gently push the Doctor and Ember forward. "So now that I have your attention, welcome to the only planet in the universe where we get to say this: They're on the payroll."

"Am I?" The Doctor asked, puzzled

"Well, technically. You had it changed to add all of your earnings into Ember's payroll after the incident with the former Prime Minister."

That made Ember tilt her head. She didn't even know she had a payroll, never mind the Doctor's request to add his to hers. "Um, which Prime Minister?"

"I'll play it safe and say spoilers for now."

"...How much?" The Doctor asked.

Kate shushed him before addressing the Cybers again. "Any questions?"

The Cybers moved as one, pressing a fist on the blue disc in the middle of their chests. Little engines started up on the bottoms of their feet, kicking up dust in the wind.

"Back, back!" One of the soldiers yelled. "Everyone, back!"

But they needn't have worried. The Cybers didn't attack: instead they shot up into the sky and out of sight in several directions. The dome of the St Paul's Cathedral opened like the segments of an orange.

"Oh, my God!" Osgood gaped. "Is it supposed to do that? Is that new?"

"A sun roof on Saint Paul's?" The Doctor said. "Yes, I'd say that was new."

Kate ignored the sarcasm. "There's going to be mass panic. Everyone in London can see that."

Several obejects came out of the open dome: more Cybermen, each one flying off.

Ember shook her head. "People around the world have those Cybers, and they're not all employed by UNIT."

"Everyone in London just clapped and went whee." The Doctor added. "Hush, I'm trying to count."

Osgood was already doing that. "Eighty seven, I think. OCD."

"Ninety one." Missy spoke up. "Queen of evil."

Kate looked at her. "How could Saint Paul's be full of ninety one Cybermen and nobody noticed?"

"Dimensional engineering." The Doctor replied. "One space folded inside another. Bigger on the inside. Easy if you're a Time Lord."

"Mostly deploying south, a smaller number east." Osgood said.

"Yep, but one straight up."

"So ninety one isn't a coincidence?"

"Of course it isn't." The Doctor took Missy's device from Osgood.

Kate turned to the woman. "Osgood? Ninety one. Explain."

"Ninety one areas of significant population density in the British Isles."

"That's one Cyberman for every city and major town." The Doctor lowered the device enough for Ember to see the screen too, showing a map of the UK with blips showing Cybers in several places. "It's happening everywhere, all over the world, right now."

Missy made a sound. "Sweet planet, this. I think I might keep it."

"One Cyberman per city. What could they hope to accomplish?" Kate asked.

"One Cybermite can override a human brain," Ember said. "What do you think one whole Cyberman is capable of?"

Osgiid gasped as the Cyber that had gone straight up has somehow exploded. "Doctor!"

"Has it exploded?" Kate asked.

"More than that." Missy said, like she was talking to a bunch of idiots. "Cybermen don't just blow themselves up for no good reason, dear. They're not human."

The Doctor turned to face her. "If it's not exploding, what's it doing?"

"Pollinating. Falling like rain into the cracks of the Earth. The dead are coming home, Doctor. All shiny and new. In twenty four hours the human race as you know it will cease to exist."

"What are you doing? Explain. Tell me now."

He was too late to stop a soldier that pressed a different sort of gun to Missy's neck and fire. It didn't kill her; there was no bullet but a dart. "Oh! That was nice. Must do it again..."

"No!" The Doctor said as Missy fell back, unconscious, into the arms of the soldiers behind her. "No, no, no, no, I need to talk to her! I need her awake!"

The soldier shot him next, and he stumbled as he removed the dart. Two other soldiers slowed his fall, lowering him to the ground. "Argh! No. No, no! Stupid. Stupid! No, no! Argh!"

Osgood went to his side. Ember looked around at the soldiers, expecting one of them to shoot her next, but to her surprise, none of them were even pointing a gun at her.

"We want the Doctor's cooperation. We'd guarantee his refusal if we were to shoot you in any way," Kate said in expjaintion as she dialled her phone and put it to her ear to talk to whoever answered. "The first protocol is implemented. We're good to go."

"You just have to let it take you." Osgood said to the Doctor. He didn't reply, but he grabbed her by the lapel and pulled her close enough to whisper something to her before he passed out.

Kate had seen the move as she put the phone away. "What did he say?"

"He said guard the graveyards." Osgood said at the same time as Ember, the former turning to look as the latter added "And everywhere where there are dead bodies."

* * *

A short time later, Ember was standing under a massive jet aircraft. Kate and the rest of UNIT had escorted her, the Tardis and the unconscious Doctor to a hanger where they were about to be loaded on the jet plane.

The Doctor himself was on a box trolley with his hands cuffed behind his back. One of the soldiers used a different dart on him now, making him wake up and look around, spotting Kate and Osgood with Ember not far away. "Ember! Did they shoot you?"

"No," Ember replied. "They said it would have been a bad idea."

"Kate? What's with the handcuffs?"

Kate approached as the soldier uncuffed the Doctor. "I'm sorry. In the event of an alien incursion on this scale, protocols are in place. Your co-operation is to be ensured and your unreliability assumed. You have a history."

"You don't have a future without me. Do you think your father would've done this?"

"We both know he absolutely would." Kate saw him look behind her, to see Missy being taken to the plane on a box trolley herself. "Who is she?"

The Doctor wasn't in the mood for explanations as he moved to follow the ladies to the side of the plane. "Long story. Where's Clara?"

"Clara Oswald, your assistant?"

"Friend." Ember corrected. "Not assistant."

"She was with me in Saint Paul's." The Doctor added.

"The team's still on site but they've been unable to gain access to the building."

"I want her found and brought here. I need her with me."

"Then give the order." Kate said as they walked up the ramp that led to the door of the plane. "As soon as you're on board Boat One your word is law. Quite literally."

Ember took his hand. "She's safe. She's smart, and she won't be alone. Another old face will be coming to help her."

The Doctor squeezed her hand to let her know he'd heard as he looked around. "You got the Tardis out, though?"

"Yes, and Saint Paul's locked down." Kate replied.

The small group - consisted of the Doctor, Ember, Kate, Osgood - got onto the plane and went straight to the main cabin, which had been revamped into a conference room complete with a long table, monitors on the walls and even a metal tea dispenser to the side. On the far wall was a framed portrait of a man in uniform, with flowers in a vase on the cabinet below it.

"Where are we going?" The Doctor asked. "Cloudbase?"

"You mean the Valiant?" Kate said.

"Cloudbase was Thunderbirds." Osgood added.

"Too conspicuous. We need your location concealed, not advertised. From now on you're a moving target.

The Doctor moved to look at the portrait. "Ah, I see you're bringing Daddy along, too. That's very sweet."

An army officer, an Indian man in his early forties, stood in front of him and saluted. "Sir!"

"Oh, don't do that. You look like you're self-concussing, which would explain all of military history, now I think about it."

The man glanced over the Doctor soldier at Ember, catching her mouthing an apology to him, and then looked at the Doctor again. "Colonel Ahmed, sir. Privileged to meet you."

"Love your outfit, Colonel Ahmed. Are you in the Scouts? Are you a Man Scout? I didn't know they had those." The Doctor walked away from the perplexed man, going to the sideboard to get a drink.

Ember moved to him. "Sorry. I think the filter broke when he regenerated. Has a habit of not turning his mouth off."

The man nodded, and then saluted her. "Ma'am."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

Osgood made to pass them when Ahmed spoke to her. "It was Captain Scarlet."

"Sorry?"

"Not Thunderbirds."

"Oh God, so it was!"

"My confidence is growing every minute." The Doctor called, having heard them. He also heard when Kate spoke on the intercom about the President being on board, though he didn't show it as he opened the small fridge that was the cupboard where he was getting his hot drink. "Mind you, me and Sylvia Anderson, you've never seen a foxtrot like it. Hang on a second. The President? We don't want Americans bobbing around the place. They'll only start praying."

"Not the President of America, sir." Ahmed said as Ember moved to sit at the table. "The President of Earth."

"There isn't one." The Doctor said as he sat at the end of the table, his cup of tea and a bowl of sugar cubes in front of him. He put a can of cola he'd taken from the fridge in front of Ember, who nodded her head in thanks as she popped the tab.

"There is now."

"The incursion protocols have been agreed internationally." Kate explained, not commenting as the Doctor proceeded to add several sugar cubes to his tea; Ember stopped counting at five. "In the event of full-scale invasion, an Earth President is inducted immediately, with complete authority over every nation state. There was only one practical candidate."

"That's your answer for everything, isn't it?" The Doctor said. "Vote for an idiot."

"If you say so, Mister President." Kate's reply made pause halfway to bringing the saucer of spilt tea to his lips. "So long as you're on this plane, you're the Commander in Chief of every army on Earth. Every world leader is currently awaiting your instructions. You are the Chief Executive Officer of the human race. Any questions?"

_"This is your captain speaking. Please prepare for take-off."_

Ember waited until they'd taken off and were in the air before she finished her cola and stood. "I think we need to talk to Missy. I've got some questions for her."

* * *

The Doctor and Ember followed Osgood into the cargo hold, which had been converted into a laboratory of sorts. Missy was still handcuffed to the box trolley while the Tardis and two soldiers were next to and behind her.

Osgood moved to her workbench, where she began to examine the device she'd taken from Missy. Ember moved to set on some secured cases while the Doctor approached Missy, who at that moment opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Why are you still alive?" The Doctor asked her.

Missy smiled. "You saved me."

"I saved Gallifrey."

"Yes, Gallifrey too, I suppose. There's always collateral damage with you and me. It's our Paris."

"Gallifrey's lost in another dimension."

"Yes and no."

The Doctor tilted his head. "Meaning?"

"Yes, it's in another dimension. No, it's not lost."

"You know where it is?"

"Yep! You know the best part about knowing?" Missy lowered her voice. "Not telling you."

There was a ping before Ahmed's voice came from the tannoy. _"Mister President, sir, we're ready for you up here."_

"Remember all those years when all you wanted to do was to rule the world?" The Doctor asked Missy before addressing the tannoy. "On my way."

_"Thank you, Mister President."_

"Piece of cake."

The Doctor moved to where Osgood was working, the girl having changed her jacket for a lab coat, to talk to her. Ember watched for a moment, and then she turned her attention to Missy.

"I have a question for you," she said, making sure the woman was listening. "When I saw that Nethersphere, I felt sick. I could feel the pain, and the grief and the anger from all the people inside it..."

"From the people?" Missy suddenly said. She looked generally puzzled by that, though the look changed to one that might have been sympathy. "Oh, my dear... that wasn't from the people. That was _your_ pain, and grief and anger. No one else."

Ember blinked. "Mine? Why would I feel that from looking at the sphere?"

Missy tilted her head. "Do you even know what you are yet? Besides Time Lord, of course."

"That's not important."

"Oh, it is very important, love, but I digress. I'll give you a hint: that pain and grief and anger that came when you saw the Nethersphere... it wasn't a coincidence. It's not the first time you've seen something like that: From the legends I heard about you, you _really_ didn't like it. And that was before you became what you are."

Ember looked at her, wondering if she was lying, but the Doctor called her over as he made to leave the hold. The brunette got up to follow, pausing at Osgood's work station, and lowered her voice so only she could hear her. "Be careful. Just because she's restrained doesn't mean she's safe to be around. Get out if there's trouble."

Osgood nodded, showing that she'd heard, as the Doctor came back to take Ember by the hand and pull her with him.

"Doctor, what did she mean when she said that wasn't the first time I've seen that sphere?" The brunette asked.

"You're part Time Lord," The Doctor said. "You've probably seen the one they had on Gallifrey. They show that in school trips at the Academy, so almost everyone on the planet would have seen it sooner or later."

Ember frowned. He sounded like he was lying. But why?

They reached the main cabin without any further discussion, where several people in officer uniforms or neat suits were gathered at the table. The Doctor and Ember took their seats as Kate began the session, turning on one of the screens to show a news report.

_"Localised rain in the cemeteries has resulted in what can only be described as disturbances to the soil."_ A male reporter said. _"Extraordinary eyewitness accounts are claiming that silver creatures are climbing from the graves."_

"These scenes are being repeated everywhere." Kate said. "Every cemetery, every mortuary, every funeral home, every hospital, the dead are returning to life as Cybermen."

"The public are being advised to stay away from all cemeteries..."

Kate pointed to another screen, which was showing an x-Ray of the ground underneath one of the graveyards. There were several oval shapes, like seeds or cocoons, and about half of them had an outline of a Cyberman in it. The other half of them looked empty, though some of those looked torn and ripped like something had come out of it. "We've done heat scans of some of the cemeteries and, in each case only a handful of Cybermen have so far emerged. But every individual burial site is active."

"Active?" Ahmed, who was sitting opposite Ember, repeated.

"Hatching." The Doctor corrected.

Kate nodded. "More are coming. Potentially millions."

"So the rain caused all that in just a few hours?" Ahmed asked.

"It wasn't rain, Man Scout." The Doctor said as he stood up to pace. "It was pollen. Cyber-pollen. Every tiny particle of a Cyberman contains the plans to make another Cyberman. All it has to do is to make a contact with compatible living organic matter and bang! Full conversion. But if they have learned how to convert the dead..." he stopped at one of the screens that showed a feed of the cargo hold. "That's what she was doing. That's what 3W was for. She creates an all-new paranoia among the super-rich about dying. She exploits the wealth and the mortal remains of selected idiots so she can create a whole new race of Cybermen. Cybermen who can recruit corpses. Throw away your guns, Man Scout, it's all over. How can you win a war against an enemy that can weaponise the dead?"

Ahmed didn't bother protesting the nickname he'd gotten, probably knowing that there wasn't a point. "They're not attacking, apart from isolated incidents. They're just wandering about."

"Does a baby lion kill the moment it's born?" Ember asked. "No. It needs to learn."

"They're newborns. Give them time." The Doctor added before he addressed Kate. "Why were you there this morning? Why were you already attacking?"

"Been investigating 3W for a while, then we got a tip-off." Kate replied.

"From a woman with a Scottish accent." Ahmed added.

Ember rubbed her eye with her hand. "What's that old saying? 'If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?'"

The Doctor caught her meaning. "Can't play to the gallery unless there's a gallery... and here we are." He looked up at the camera feed to find Missy sticking her tongue out. "Dead bodies don't have minds, of course, but she's been upgrading dying minds to a hard drive for a long time. So she upgrades the hardware, and then she updates the software."

"What do you mean, a long time?" Kate asked, catching that small detail. "How long?"

"Well, she must have a Tardis somewhere, so as long as she likes. The past, the future-"

"How long, Doctor?"

"How long has the human race had a concept of an afterlife? Turns out the afterlife is real, and it's emptying. Every graveyard on planet Earth is about to burst its banks."

Suddenly, the whole plane lurched, swinging from side to side. Everyone held on to whatever they could.

"Mister President, you need to get back in your seat." Kate said.

The Doctor had at some point moved to where the portrait and flowers were, taking one of the lilies. "I don't like being the president. People keep saluting. I'm never going to salute back."

"Do you know, that was always my dad's big ambition, to get you to salute him just once."

"He should've asked."

Kate looked away for a moment, but she looked back, she found the Doctor had put the flower back and was now looking out of the window of the plane. "Doctor, what are you looking at?"

"The clouds. Still there. So what else have they got?"

Suddenly, a metal hand appeared, followed by a familiar silver head: a Cyberman was outside.

"Oh, dear Lord!" Kate gasped, jumping back.

"There's a Cyberman out there on the fuselage. But on the plus side, it's not turbulence."

Ember felt dread hit her as she suddenly remembered something, and looked up at the monitor observing the cargo hold. The Tardis was still there, but the soldiers, Osgood and Missy were nowhere to be seen. "Shit! Doctor!"

The Doctor followed her gaze to the monitor. "She's out. Who let her out?"

"What's it doing?" Ahmed said, looking out of the window. "Where did it go? What can one Cyberman do to a plane?"

"I dunno, maybe throw itself in the engine? Get to the cockpit and shoot the pilot?!" Ember snapped at him as she stood up. "Take a wild guess, dipstick!"

She didn't wait for a reply, instead going after the Doctor as he left the cabin. It took slightly longer to get to the cargo hold thanks to the rocking, but they soon got there, the Doctor sliding down the ladder while Ember just climbed. By the time she reached the bottom, the Doctor was knelt by a small pile of dust on the floor. Ember moved to his side and froze when she saw what was in his hand; the broken glasses that belonged to Osgood.

Missy, who'd been hiding behind the Tardis, stepped out with a grin.

"Oh, she was really scared. It's classic." She said. "Have you got any more friends I can play with?"

Ember let out a sound that resembled a growl. "Why don't you try playing with me?"

Missy pouted, but then giggled as the plane rocked again. "Oh, oooh. Ask me."

"Shut up!" The Doctor snapped.

"Ask me! Come on, you know you want to. You want to know what my plan is. You'll be surprised. I've got a gift for you. You know, I've been up and down your timeline, meeting all those silly people who died to keep you alive. And you know what I worked out? What you really need."

"For what?"

"To know that you're just like me!" Missy cheered. Suddenly, the phone on the outside if the Tardis began to ring. "Oh, and now it begins. Doctor, I do believe you're on call. Miss Oswald expects. Who else but the girl who's got your number? Whoops!"

The Doctor looked at her in shock. "It was you!"

Missy put on a cockney accent. "Computer helpline, love. That's the one. Best helpline in the universe."

"You put us together!"

"I kept you together."

"Why?"

"Cos she's perfect, innit? The control freak and the man who should never be controlled. You'd go to hell if she asked. And she would. The phone's ringing, Doctor. Can you hear that? Now _that_ is the sound of your chain being yanked. Heel, Doctor!" Missy didn't bother to stop him as he went to the Tardis, and even ignored Ember as the brunette moved to stand between the Time Lords. She began inspecting her nails. "Help me, Doctor. Help me. Help me, Doctor."

The Doctor managed to reach the Tardis and picked up the phone. "Clara?"

Ember tuned out the conversation, focusing on Missy. "You're killing people for no reason other than because you can. Give me a good reason why I shouldn't just barbecue you right now!"

"Well, I dunno if it's a good reason," Missy replied with a shrug. "But would your precious Doctor approve if you did that? Would you really execute me? You taught me something, a long time ago. You saw that I was about to kill someone, and you said 'death can be just as much a release as a punishment'. You didn't care that they were intending to do something horrible: you didn't want a man's blood on my hands because of you. Now, are you really going to go back on those words?"

"... fuck you." Ember finally said. Somehow, she knew the woman wasn't lying.

"Bit of a bad time, honey. But I'll take a rain check."

Ember was about to retort, when the Doctor's raised voice made her pause. "Clara? Clara, no!"

He lowered the phone, only to let go of it in favour of grabbing one of the cargo straps that were hanging as the plane tilted again. He then reached out and grabbed Ember's outstretched arm to pull her to him and hang on to her.

There was a clatter, and then Kate came down the ladder. "Doctor! The Cybermen are in! The plane's going down!"

"Oh, great. It's the daughter one!" Missy said. "Do you like her? I like her." She pressed a button on her bracelet, which then opened the cargo hatch on the side of the plane.

Kate tried to hold on to the cargo strap she'd grabbed, but since she was right next to hatch, the sudden tug pulled her out of the plane with a scream.

"Why did you do that?" The Doctor yelled over the noise. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Oh, don't be so selfish. I'm going to miss her, too!" Missy yelled back. "In fact, you know what? Just for that, I'm leaving." She raised her arm to talk into her bracelet. "Boys, blow up this plane and, I don't know, Belgium, yeah? Kill some Belgians. Might as well. They're not even French. Byeeee!"

With that, she teleported away in a flash of blue light. The Doctor held the cargo strap with one hand while his other arm kept Ember close as they were flung about.

"Doctor!" Ember yelled to be heard over the rush of air. She pointed to the Tardis just before it was pulled out of the cargo hatch, revealing that it hadn't been strapped down. "Kate will be fine! But we need to jump, now!"

Though he thought that was a crazy idea, the Doctor didn't question it. "I'm gonna let go in three! Two! One!"

He let go, and the pair of them were pulled out of the plane, freefalling through the clouds. Then the Doctor helped adjust them so that they were in a more controlled fall, reaching into his jacket pocket for the Tardis key.

Ember closed her eyes and thought hard. _"If you can hear me, Sexy, please help!"_

The last of the clouds passed, revealing the city lights below, and then the Tardis came in from the side to get under and towards them. The Doctor, keeping Ember's body tight against his as he reached out with the key and unlocked the door.

Ember barely remembered the next few seconds, which consisted of falling and then floating and then landing on the floor of the Tardis. Well, not quite; the Doctor had moved at the last moment so that he landed on his back and Ember landed on his chest, luckily not hitting anything vital.

Not giving herself a moment to think on their position - mainly because she knew she'd start blushing - Ember jumped to her feet and helped the Doctor up. "We need to move. Clara will be almost done with Danny."

The Doctor quickly followed her to the console, where they worked together to track the signal from Clara's phone. He did, however, have a question. "You said Kate would be fine. How?"

"Old faces. Well, maybe not one you'll recognise right away. You'll see."

When the Tardis landed, the Doctor was first to the door, Ember following him out into s graveyard. There were several Cybers scattered around, but none of them attempted to attack. The Doctor ignored them in favour of getting to Clara, who was standing very close to a Cyber. As the Time Lords got closer, they saw that the faceplate of the Cyber was off, revealing a human face that they recognised; Danny Pink.

"Clara, don't!" The Doctor called as they reached the pair.

Clara turned and walked up to them. "Help me."

"If you do what you're trying to do, if you succeed, he will snap you."

"No."

"Then he will step over your broken body and break another and another and another. He will never stop."

"I will not harm her." Danny said firmly.

The Doctor walked around Danny, taking in the metal body before he faced the human part. "P E. P E. P E..."

"Sir."

"I had a friend once. We ran together when I was little. And I thought we were the same. But when we grew up, we weren't. Now, she's trying to tear the world apart, and I can't run fast enough to hold it together. The difference is this." He put a hand against the disc on the metal chest. "Pain is a gift. Without the capacity for pain, we can't feel the hurt we inflict."

Danny probably would have scoffed if he could. "Are you telling me seriously, for real, that you can?"

"Of course I can."

"Then shame on you, Doctor."

"Yes. Oh, yes."

Ember looked up as the dark clouds above gave a loud rumble overhead.

"Danny," The Doctor said, "Danny, I need you to tell me. What are the clouds going to do? What is the plan?"

"How would I know?" Danny asked.

"You're part of a hive mind now. Presumably that's how you found Clara. Just look."

"I can't see much."

"Look harder."

Danny looked past him at Clara. "Clara, watch this. This is who the Doctor is. Watch the blood-soaked old general in action." He then addressed the Doctor again. "I can't see properly, sir, because this needs activating. If you want to know what's coming, you have to switch it on. And didn't all of those beautiful speeches just disappear in the face of a tactical advantage? Sir."

The Doctor sighed, about to speak when Ember suddenly moved between the two. Her eyes were slightly wet with surpressed tears, but there was also anger flickering in those silver pools.

"You listen to me right now, Danny Pink. Or should I call you Rupert?" She said. The man-turned-Cyber's eyes widened a fraction. "I know what happened while you were in service. You made a mistake and an innocent life paid for it. You had a go at Clara when she mentioned your past, snapped at her because she'd made assumptions. You've had to live with people looking at you like you were something else because of your chosen path. You hated the fact that people saw the soldier and not the man. But even through all of that, you would gladly rectify that one mistake if you could, wouldn't you?"

Danny looked at her in surprise. There was no way that this woman could have known those things: he'd barely told Clara anything about his past, and he knew that she wouldn't have gossiped about it even if he had. "... how did you know that?"

"Because if I turn around, I'd find the exact same thing in the Doctor." Ember blinked, two tears falling. "Look around. All those machines used to be someone, but they've had that taken away from them. You've held on to your humanity and emotion, and no one has the right to take that from you. The only one who has that right is you. Because you are Danny - no, Rupert Pink. Not the soldier, not the killer. But a man."

There was a long pause, and then Danny surprised the Doctor and Clara by stepping back, his face pained.

"It hurts..." he whispered. "I... I can't live like this..."

Ember nodded. "Then we can end that pain. But please, Danny. We need your help. Not the soldier, not the Cyber. Just you. This sky is going to burn, but we can save it if we can make the first spark."

Danny nodded, straightening up. "Then do it."

Clara stepped forward. "Give me the screwdriver."

"No..." The Doctor said. He didn't want this on her head.

"Just do it, Doctor. Do as you are told."

"Typical officer." Danny said, though it didn't hold the usual bite. "Got to keep those hands clean."

Clara took the Sonic as the Doctor took a few steps away. "Just point and think, yeah?"

"Yes." The Doctor replied quietly.

"Okay." Clara turned to Danny. "I wasn't very good at it, but I did love you."

"I love you too."

"I'm never going to say that again."

"Me neither."

Ember suddenly stepped forward again. "One more thing, Danny. It's not much, but... when this is over, you're going to be faced with one more choice: one that you've been begging for. Choose carefully, and mean it."

Clara waited until the brunette stepped back before she turned to Danny again. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

"...I feel like I'm killing you."

"I'm already dead. You're here this time at least."

Clara sniffed, fighting back tears. "Goodbye, Danny."

"Goodbye, Clara."

She activated the Sonic, aiming it at the centre of the metal chestplate. Danny's face went blank and he straightened up, and then Clara turned off the Sonic and ran forward to hug him.

The Doctor panicked, running forward. "Clara, no! Step away! He's activating! Clara, step away now! Don't!" He was about to pull her away when Ember held out an arm to stop him. "Ember, what-"

"Danny, you have a clear link to the hive mind now," she said. "Tell us what the clouds are going to do."

"The rain will fall again." Danny said, no emotion in his voice. "All humanity will die."

"And rise again as Cybermen." The Doctor said.

"Correct."

"How do we stop it?"

"We cannot be stopped."

There was a buzz, and the trio turned in time to see Missy appear in a teleport, floating to the ground with an umbrella in a very Mary Poppins fashion. "Oh, that was _brilliant_! Oh, I love the telly here, but did you see _that_? Oh, Clara, you poor thing. You must feel like death. Let me pop away the pain."

The Doctor saw her raise her device and ran up to her, snatching it out of her hand and throwing it away. He didn't see Clara pick it up. "Don't you dare! Don't you think about it!"

"Oh, sorry, hon, I'm just getting a bit carried away. It's your friends, they're so more-ish. Hmm? Oh, stop looking all cross-pants. I'm here to give you a gift. Could you at least try and be excited?"

"...What gift?"

Missy grinned, lifting her wrist to speak into the bracelet. "Cyberdears! Look at Mummy!" The Cybers that were scattered around the graveyard turned to face her. "Look at Mummy! Raise your arms. Lower your arms. Raise your right. Lower your right. Turn on the spot. There are exits at the front and rear of the aircraft. Please follow the lights up the aisle."

Ember had been watching the Danny-Cyber while Missy was messing around, fighting hard to keep the smirk off her face when he didn't move at all.

"You see, Doctor?" Missy said, missing the important detail. "The power to slaughter whole worlds at a time, then make them do a safety briefing. Everyone who ever lived, man, woman and child, is now at my command. An indestructible army to rage across the universe. The more they kill, the more they recruit. Happy birthday." She grinned again at seeing the Doctor's look of disbelief. "Oh! You didn't know, did you? It's lucky one of us remembers these things. Happy birthday... Mister President."

She put her bracelet on the Doctor's wrist and stepped back to curtsy before him. All the Cybers turned at once, one of the closer ones speaking. _"__Doctor."_

Missy was practically bouncing on her feet. "Tiny bit pleased? Oh, go on, crack a smile. I want to see if your eyebrows drop off."

"All of this..." The Doctor finally spoke. "All of it, just to give me an army?"

"Well, I don't need one, do I? Armies are for people who think they're right. And nobody thinks they're righter than you. Give a good man firepower, and he'll never run out of people to kill."

"I don't want an army!"

"Well, that's the trouble! Yes, you do! You've always wanted one! All those people suffering in the Dalek camps? Now you can save them. All those bad guys winning all the wars? Go and get the good guys back!"

"Nobody can have that power."

"That's where you're slightly off the mark. Ember has that kind of power," that made the brunette blink in puzzlement. "But why should she be alone? You will have that kind of power, because you don't have a choice. There's only way you can stop these clouds from opening up and killing all your little pets down here. Conquer the universe, Mister President. Show a bad girl how it's done."

The Doctor yanked the bracelet off his wrist. "Why are you doing this?"

"I need you to know we're not so different. I need my friend back. Every battle, every war, every invasion. From now on, you decide the outcome. What's the matter, Mister President? Don't you trust yourself?"

The Doctor looked around, at the Cybers that were now under his command, at Clara, and then at Ember. She met his gaze evenly as she spoke. "What's the difference between good and bad?"

It only took a moment for it to become clear to the Doctor. He turned to Missy, though he didn't lean down to kiss her like he'd done in the show. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I really didn't know. I wasn't sure. You lose sight sometimes. Thank you!" He moved a few steps away. "I am _not_ a good man! I am not a bad man. I am not a hero. And I'm definitely not a president. And no, I'm not an officer. Do you know what I am? I am an idiot, with a box and a screwdriver. Just passing through, helping out, learning. I don't need an army. I never have, because I've got them!" He pointed at Clara and Danny. "Always them! Because love, it's not an emotion. Love is a promise!"

Ember let the smirk appear on her face as Danny put his arm around Clara.

"And _he_ will _never_ hurt her." The Doctor added. "P E, catch!" He threw the bracelet, which Danny caught, and then he looked at Missy again. "You didn't notice, did you? While you were doing all your silly orders, while you where showing off, the one soldier not obeying."

Missy looked puzzled and slightly worried. "No, that's wrong. That's impossible..."

"The rain will not fall." Danny said, letting go of Clara and approaching Missy as he put the bracelet on.

"Oh? Why won't it?"

"The clouds will burn."

"And who'll burn them?"

"I will burn them."

"How?"

"I will burn."

Missy rolled her eyes. "One burning Cyberman is hardly going to save the planet."

"Correct." Danny turned away to face the Cybers and spoke into the bracelet. "Attention!" Every Cyber in view turned and straightened. "This is not a good day. This is Earth's darkest hour. And look at you miserable lot. We are the Fallen. But today, we shall rise. The army of the dead will save the land of the living. This is not the order of a general, nor the whim of a lunatic."

"Excuse me?" Missy cried, indignant.

"This is a promise. The promise of a soldier!" Danny looked at Clara. "You will sleep safe tonight."

He pressed his fist to his chest, the others following, and then they all shot into the sky. Once they'd dissappeated into the clouds, there was an explosion, and in a matter of seconds the while sky was covered in fire. Less than a minute later, the fires dispersed, and the skies turned clear.

"Well..." Clara said. "The clouds have all gone."

"Yes, burned up. Totally burnt. Burnt to nothing." The Doctor said before Ember elbowed his side, making him realise what he'd said. "Sorry."

"Ten zero eleven, zero zero by zero two."

The Doctor looked at Missy in shock. "What did you say?!"

"The current coordinates of Gallifrey. It's returned to it's original location. Didn't you ever think to look?"

"You are lying!"

"We can, we can go together, just you and me. Just like the old days." Missy looked at Ember. "And you can get some answers. Maybe even get them back for what they did to you."

The brunette paused. Get who back? What who did to her?

"You'd be clapped in irons." The Doctor pointed out, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"If you like."

"Doctor, I'm assuming you'll remember those coordinates?" Clara suddenly asked. She didn't wait for his answer, instead turning to face them and revealing the device that she'd picked up after the Doctor took it from Missy.

The Doctor saw it and paled. "No. No, don't you dare. I won't let you."

"Old friend, is she?" Clara said. "If you have ever let this creature live, everything that happened today, is on you. All of it, on _you_. And you're not going to let her live again."

To the surprise of everyone else, Ember suddenly moved to stand between Clara and Missy. "If you're gonna start blaming him for other people's actions, then I have so much more blood on my hands than him."

Clara bit her lip. "Ember, move."

"No."

"Do as you're told."

"Do _not_ assume you can order me around!" The brunette snapped, making everyone jump not just from the tone of her voice, but also because the ground seemed to tremble in warning. "You don't get to make that call! You think that killing her will make you feel better? That it will avenge all the people who've died? Because I'll tell you now, it won't. There is no good reason to kill anyone, no excuses. And it only takes doing it once, and then it gets easier the next time, and then the next, but you lose a bit more of yourself each time. I won't stand aside and let you start down that path, Clara!"

The Doctor stepped closer. "Clara, all I'm doing is not letting you kill her. I never said I was letting her live."

Clara looked at him. "Really?"

"If that's the only thing that will stop you, yes."

There was a pause, and then Clara handed him the device.

Missy sighed. "Seriously. Oh, Doctor. To save her soul? But who, my dear, will save yours? Say something nice." He didn't speak. "Please?"

"You win."

"...I know."

Ember moved again, getting in the way once more. "I won't let you do it, either. She will pay the price for her actions. But it won't be at your hand."

The Doctor looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

The brunette simply closed her eyes and held up three fingers, counting them off. When the last went down, a bolt of blue energy came from nowhere and hit Missy, vapourising her on the spot. "One more old face."

Clara and the Doctor looked in the direction the shot had come from, to find one Cyber several feet away, lowering its weapon. It then turned its head and pointed with its other arm, making them look that way... to see someone lying on the grass.

"Doctor!" Clara said, running. The Doctor and Ember followed, reaching the person: an unconscious woman with blonde hair that they knew.

"Kate," The Doctor said, checking for a pulse out of reflex. "She's breathing! She's alive! She can't be here."

"She is."

"She fell out of a plane. The Cyberman must have caught her."

"Doctor, she's talking about her dad."

The Doctor looked up at Ember, following her gaze to the Cyber that was standing there. Then it clicked. "Of course. The Earth's darkest hour and mine. Where else would you be?" He straightened and then saluted the Cyber, which acknowledged it with a nod before it used its jetboots to shoot into the sky, presumably to detonate at a safe distance. "Thank you."

* * *

_"What the hell?!"_

_She looked around, her confusion fading at her surroundings. It was a clean, white room, with a few control panels and screens. She was standing in the centre of the room, in an indent in the floor that would fit a humungous sphere._

_Looking around again, she saw people. None of them looked familiar, and most of them wore white clothes while there were two that wore armour that was blood red, making them stand out._

_"Where am I?" She asked._

_One of the armoured men stepped forward. "It's alright, Ma'am. You're safe."_

_Her head throbbed, her vision flashing for a moment as a different scene came to mind. Fire was everywhere... but then she was back in the white room. "What was that? I..."_

_"Memory flashes are a side effect," the armoured man said. "It'll pass."_

_"A side effect of what?" She heard a noise above her and looked up, her eyes widening at the sight of a massive, metal sphere above her head. "Is that...?"_

_"It is."_

_"But if that's... then that fire... did I really...?"_

_"I'm afraid you did, ma'am. But that's not important right now. We're running out of time."_

_That made her look at the armoured man. "Out of time? For what?"_

_"She's coming. And she's angry. From our research, only you can calm her."_

_"Calm who?"_

_There was no answer._

* * *

Ember sat up in her bed, breathing hard. Another dream... But what did it mean?

"Getting really sick of all these clues and no answers," she muttered, pulling back the covers and getting to her feet. She'd not long been asleep, if the clock on her nightstand was correct, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway.

After quickly changing into some dark blue jeans and a red top with her denim jacket, Ember pulled on a pair of red converse and left her room, going down the corridor. The Tardis made the walk shorter, allowing her to turn the first corner and reaching the doorway that led to the console room.

She paused at the doorway, keeping out of sight as she saw the Doctor standing at the doors that led outside, one of them open and allowing him to look out at something. An instinct told her not to announce her presence yet.

The Doctor let out a sigh and closed the door, turning to walk up to the console. He paused for a moment, as though thinking... and then he raised a fist and slammed it down on the console. Another hit made sparks fly.

"Doctor!" Ember cried out without thinking, running forward. He didn't seem to hear her at first, hitting the console again until she reached his side and grabbed his raised fist before he could bring it down. "Doctor, stop!"

He stilled, his head lowered so she couldn't meet his gaze. "... it's not there..."

Ember tilted her head, cautiously letting go of his arm. "What's not where?"

"... Gallifrey..."

Oh. Now Ember understood. "You think Missy lied to you?"

"Well, she just have!" The Doctor straightened. His expression broke her hearts, so pained as it was. "We're right at the coordinates that she gave me, and it's not there!"

"You came to that conclusion because you can't see it?" Ember asked. "Doctor... what did she tell us on the plane?"

"That Gallifrey was..." he suddenly paused. "Not lost... but in another dimension..."

Ember nodded. "And then she gave you the location in space. I don't think she lied, Doctor. I think she just gave you slivers of the truth."

There was a long pause as the Doctor seemed to take it all in. Then he turned to the console and examined the damage he'd done to it. There was no major damage, though he'd probably have to replace a few of the buttons later.

Ember was about to speak when she felt that burning sensation in her chest, indicating that she was about to jump. "Uh-oh. Looks like I'm off..."

The Doctor gave her a smile before she left, but she didn't miss how strained it was.

* * *

And there we have it! I've had to go over this one a few times before I was happy enough with it to post, though I feel like I've missed something somewhere.

I hope I portrayed Missy's behaviour with Ember the way I'm hoping. There is a reason that she's done that, by the way. Maybe something in her past, perhaps? You'll sadly have to wait and see.

Next Time: Ember squares up to those with powers thought impossible. Can her own counter them? And she's in for more riddles and frustration. And if that isn't enough, a moment she's been 'somewhat' dreading has come. Can she face it? Stay tuned!


	20. Chapter Twenty: The Fires Of Pompeii

And here we go! I thought I'd find it easy to write this one, as it's one of my favourite episodes, but for some reason it was tough. As a result, it ended up being slightly late to post.

But it's here now, so enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Twenty: The Fires of Pompeii 

* * *

Ember landed next in an alley just in time to feel the ground shake ominously. It wasn't too major, but it did make some wicker baskets that were stacked against one wall fall over. The brunette went to one knee and put her hand on the floor, closing her eyes and concentrating.

The quake was natural, but there was something else. It wasn't causing the quake, but it was using it somehow. And it was all coming from one place... one mountain...

"Can you tell me where Foss Street is?"

It wasn't the question itself that brought her out of her concentration, but who was saying it. Ember looked up, and low and behold, the Tenth Doctor was there, talking to a market stall owner who was giving him directions. She stood and walked up to them, just about catching the end of the conversation.

"... then it's the big villa. Can't miss it," The stallholder finished.

"Thanks," the Doctor said. He turned to leave, only to nearly crash into a certain brunette behind him. "Ember!"

The brunette found herself in a hug, which surprised her by making her tense. She'd been somewhat dreading seeing this Doctor again: The last time she'd seen the Tenth Doctor was at The Library, where River had died saving them. It was also where the Doctor had... kissed her...

_'No, Ember, focus!' _The brunette scolded herself. _'This isn't the time to think about that! Besides, he hasn't been there yet!'_

"Ember?" The Doctor's gentle call made her snap out of her thoughts and look at him. He must have noticed that she'd tensed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry, was thinking about the last jump. And before you ask, it's in your future so I can't tell you," Ember replied. "Anyway. Shaking town with one mountain. I'm gonna say Pompeii?"

The Doctor blinked and then grinned, taking her left hand and pulling her with him as he walked. "Yeah. Should have known you'd know already. Anyway, we're leaving. This is a-"

"Fixed Point," Ember finished for him, making him glance back at her. "I know. But it's not gonna be that easy to just leave. It wasn't an accident that we're here."

"We really should go."

"We can try."

The Doctor didn't really want to think on that, knowing that it was a hint. He led the brunette back through the streets until he spotted red hair among the crowd, and ran over to none other Donna Noble. "I've got it. Foss Street's this way. And look who I found!"

"Ember!" Donna quickly hugged the brunette before she began to try to pull them in the other direction. "I found this big sort of amphitheatre thing. We can start there. We can gather everyone together. Maybe they've got a great big bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?"

"What do you want a bell for?" The Doctor asked.

"To warn everyone. Start the evacuation. What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"

"It's 79AD, twenty third of August, which makes volcano day tomorrow."

"Plenty of time. We could get everyone out easy."

"Yeah, except we're not going to."

Donna paused at that. "But that's what you do. You're the Doctor. You save people."

"Not this time." The Doctor said. "Pompeii is a Fixed Point in history. What happens, happens. There is no stopping it."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"What, and you're in charge?"

"Tardis, Time Lord, yeah."

"Donna, human, no!" The redhead shot back. "I don't need your permission. I'll tell them myself."

"You stand in the market place announcing the end of the world, they'll just think you're a mad old soothsayer."

"Only because the rest of them won't back you up." Ember put in.

The Doctor ignored the obvious hint, turning to go back the way they'd come. "Now, come on. Tardis. We are getting out of here."

Donna looked furious, but followed. "Well, I might just have something to say about that, Spaceman."

"Oh, I bet you will!"

Ember ran to catch up with the Doctor, taking his hand. "I wouldn't be so sure."

"Please don't try to change my mind." The Doctor said, sounding exhausted by the thought.

"I'm not trying to change your mind. Pompeii is doomed to fall. But what if someone else tries to change that?"

The Doctor didn't know what to make of that, so he decided not to reply. He kept hold of her hand, pulling her with him as he led the way through the streets. Donna was keeping up, but she was fuming.

"Ember, you can't agree with this!" She said as they walked.

Ember bit her lip. "I don't like people dying any more than the next person, but this is history. We can't change it."

"Why not?"

"Because then all those history books in the future will change. Pompeii never gets discovered because it never vanished. Saving a few lives is different because it doesn't make waves: something of this magnitude might cause a disaster."

Donna huffed, letting the matter drop for now but not ready to give up yet.

True to the stallholder's word, they were easily able to find the villa, and they were just reaching the entrance when the ground shook again. The Doctor spotted a marble bust about to fall off its pedestal and ran to it, grabbing it and holding it until the tremor stopped. "Whoa! There you go."

A man looking in his forties approached, his grey hair short, and Ember had to do a double take despite knowing who it was; she had to remember that this man wasn't the Twelth Doctor. "Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor."

"But that's me, I'm a visitor. Hello!" The Doctor grinned and waved.

"Who are you?"

"I am... Spartacus."

"And so am I." Donna added, getting in on the inside joke.

The man nodded. "Mister and Mrs Spartacus."

"Oh no, no, no. We're not, we're not married." The Doctor said.

Donna shook her head. "We're not together."

"Oh, then brother and sister?" The man assumed. "Yes, of course. You look very much alike."

The Doctor and Donna looked at each other in surprise, speaking at the same time. "Really?"

Ember snorted before she could stop herself, which brought the man's attention to her. "And who might you be, miss?"

"Uh, I am... Gaia." The brunette said the first thing that came to mind. Then she inwardly cursed. Of all the names she could have come up with, it had to be that?

"Oh, is that Greek? A very nice name," The man nodded, not noticing the inner scolding Ember was doing to herself. "I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade."

The Doctor, who'd glanced back at Ember in surprise at the name she'd chosen, turned to face the man. "And that trade would be...?"

"Marble. Lopus Caecilius." The man finally introduced himself. "Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."

"That's good. That's good, because I'm the marble inspector." The Doctor flashed the psychic paper at him as well as the wife and son, who were further inside the villa and watching.

The mother gasped. "By the gods of commerce, an inspection." She saw that her son, seated, was holding a goblet of wine and snatched it from him. "I'm sorry, sir. I do apologise for my son."

"Oi!" The son, who Ember recalled was named Quintus or something similar, said as his mother poured the contents of the goblet into the small pond next to them.

"And this is my good wife, Metella." Caecilius said. "I must confess, we're not prepared for a-"

"Nothing to worry about. I'm, I'm sure you've nothing to hide." The Doctor spotted what he was looking for; the familiar tall blue box. "Although, frankly, that object looks rather like wood to me."

"I told you to get rid of it." Metella whispered to her husband as the trio of travellers moved across the room.

"I only bought it today."

The Doctor shrugged. "Ah, well. Caveat emptor."

"Oh, you're Celtic." Caecilius assumed. "That's lovely."

"I'm sure it's fine, but I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."

"Although while we're here," Donna began, "wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus?"

"Don't know what you mean, Spartacus."

"Oh, this lovely family." Donna gestured to their audience. "Mother and father and son. Don't you think they should get out of town?"

Caecilius blinked. "Why should we do that?"

"Well, the volcano, for starters."

"What?"

"Volcano."

"What ano?"

"That great big volcano right on your doorstep."

The Doctor took Donna by the arm and guided her towards the shrine that had a large, carved plaque of what looked to be gods. "Oh, Spartacus, for shame. We haven't even greeted the household gods yet." He made them stand in front of the plaque as he dipped his fingers in the bowl of water to sprinkle the plaque, lowering his voice so that only the girls could hear him. "They don't know what it is. Vesuvius is just a mountain to them. The top hasn't blown off yet. The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow."

"Oh, great, they can learn a new word as they die." Donna sassed.

"Donna, stop it."

"Listen, I don't know what sort of kids you've been flying round with in outer space, but you're not telling me to shut up. That boy, how old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he burns to death."

"And that's my fault?"

"Right now, yes."

Suddenly, a servant spoke. "Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the City Government."

Another middle-aged man entered the room, wearing a silk cloak that covered the right side of his body. His eyes were cold and calculating.

Caecilius approached the man. "Lucius. My pleasure, as always."

"Quintus, stand up." Metella hissed at her son, who rolled his eyes as he stood.

"A rare and great honour, sir, for you to come to my house." Caecilius held out his hand for Lucius to shake.

Lucius ignored the hand. "The birds are flying north, and the wind is in the west."

Caecilius blinked, thrown by the words. "Quite. Absolutely. That's good, is it?"

"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."

"There now, Metella. Have you ever heard such wisdom?"

"Never. It's an honour." Metella said.

"Pardon me, sir. I have guests. This is Spartacus and, er, Spartacus. And Gaia."

Lucius looked at the trio. "You take the namesake of a goddess? Alas, a name is but a cloud upon a summer wind."

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark." The Doctor said in challenge.

"Ah." Lucius tilted his head, accepting the challenge. "But what is the dark, other than an omen of the sun?"

"I concede that every sun must set..."

"Ha!"

"And yet the son of the father must also rise." The Doctor added, nodding to Caecilius and Quintus.

Lucius frowned. "Damn. Very clever, sir. Evidently, a man of learning."

"Oh, yes. But don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo."

"He's Celtic." Caecilius said in explaination of the foreign words.

"We'll be off in a minute."

Donna frowned as he turned toward the Tardis.?"I'm not going."

Caecilius didn't pay them any mind, instead leading Lucius to something that was covered by a sheet. "It's ready, sir."

"You've got to." The Doctor was saying to Donna.

Ember moved to his side and grabbed his arm. "You need to see this."

"The moment of revelation." Caecilius pulled the cloth away. "And here it is."

The Doctor followed Ember's gaze to what had been revealed. It looked like a marble plaque, but the design looked like something that should not be here: a pattern one would find on a circuit board. The brunette saw the spark of interest in his eye and knew he was caught.

Caecilius looked quite proud of the piece. "Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?"

Lucius nodded approvingly. "As the rain pleases the soil."

"Oh, now that's different." The Doctor said. "Who designed that, then?"

"My Lord Lucius was very specific." Caecilus replied.

"Where'd you get the pattern?"

Lucius took this one. "On the rain and mist and wind."

Donna tilted her head. "But that looks like a circuit."

"Made of stone." The Doctor added.

"Do you mean you just dreamt that thing up?"

Lucius answered again. "That is my job, as City Augur."

"What's that, then, like the mayor?"

"Oh, ah... You must excuse my friend, she's from Barcelona." The Doctor turned himself and Donna around so that their backs were facing the audience and lowered his voice. "No, but this is an age of superstition. Of official superstition. The Augur is paid by the city to tell the future. The wind will blow from the west? That's the equivalent of ten o'clock news."

Ember saw her first; a young woman wearing a yellow dress. She looked ill, with red eyes and an unsteady stance. Then she spoke. "They're laughing at us. Those two, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."

The Doctor turned, seeing the woman. "No, no, I'm not. I meant no offence."

"I'm sorry." Metella said, walking to the girl's side. "My daughter's been consuming the vapours."

"Oh for gods, Mother. What have you been doing to her?!" Quintus exclaimed at the sight of his sister.

Caecilius tried to calm his son. "Not now, Quintus."

"Yeah, but she's sick. Just look at her!"

Lucius watched the girl carefully. "I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift."

"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood." Metella said. "They say she has remarkable visions."

Lucius almost scoffed. "The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception."

"I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate." Donna said.

Suddenly there was a tremor. Lucius didn't even smirk, but it was obvious that he was smug. "The Mountain God marks your words. I'd be careful, if I were you."

"Consuming the vapours, you say?" The Doctor asked, ignoring the man and addressing the girl.

"They give me strength." Evelina said, though she swayed on the spot.

"It doesn't look like it to me."

"Is that your opinion... as a doctor?"

That made the Doctor pause. "I beg your pardon?"

"Doctor. That's your name."

"How did you know that?"

Evelina looked at Donna next. "And you. You call yourself Noble."

"Now then, Evelina. Don't be rude." Metella tried to quiet her daughter.

"No, no, no, no. Let her talk." The Doctor gently insisted.

Evelina then looked at Ember. "And you... call yourself Ember. You chose the name of the goddess Gaia without knowing why, but it fits you. You bring the fire, and the raging water, and the angry earth... and soon you will call upon the soothing wind..."

The brunette tilted her head, not denying nor confirming the comments.

"All three of you, you come from so far away..."

"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries." Lucius dismissed.

The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I reckon you've been out-soothsayed."

"Is that so... man from Gallifrey?"

"What?" The Doctor looked at the man in shock.

"The strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not? But not hers."

"Doctor, what are they doing?" Donna asked.

"And you... daughter of London." Lucius said.

"How does he know that?"

"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."

"That's impossible."

"Doctor... she is returning."

The Doctor furrowed his brow. "Who is? Who's she?"

"And you, daughter of London." Lucius looked at Donna again. "There is something on your back."

Donna put an arm around her back, though she didn't feel anything. "What's that mean?"

Lucius smirked, and then he looked at Ember. "And you... You glimpse the future and are a master of Elements... but at the cost of two. One was taken, the other given, two to become one. None knew what you would become, or what you would do in vengeance..."

That made Ember pause. Cost of two? Vengeance? What did that mean?

"Even the words Doctor and Ember are false." Evelina continued. "Your real names are hidden. One was burned away. The other burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are Lords. Lords... of Time..."

With that, the young woman fainted, much to the mother's distress. "Evelina!"

The Doctor ran to help, followed by Donna. Ember glanced over at Lucius, who met her gaze readily. He looked like he didn't trust her, more so than anyone else, but he was taken aback when he saw her pupils become unseen in liquid silver for the briefest instant.

* * *

After Lucius had left with his commission, the trio of time travelers split up. Donna has chosen to help Metella with caring for Evelina, while the Doctor and Ember got Caecilius to show them where the daughter had been 'consuming the vapours.'

The Doctor, having taken his trench coat off and put it in the Tardis, pulled off the grill that covered a large hole in the ground that had heat and steam rising from it. "Different sort of hypocaust?"

"Oh, yes." Caecilius said, moving to sit next to the exposed hole. "We're very advanced in Pompeii. In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces, but we've got hot springs, leading from Vesuvius itself."

"Who thought of that?"

"The soothsayers, after the great earthquake, seventeen years ago. An awful lot of damage. But we rebuilt."

"Didn't you think of moving away?" The Doctor pulled a face. "Oh no, then again, San Francisco..."

"That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?"

The Doctor was spared from answering that by a loud noise from below, almost like a growl. He also noticed that Ember was tense where she was leaning over from the other side of the hypocaust. "What's that noise?"

"Don't know. Happens all the time." Caecilius said. "They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring."

"But after the earthquake, let me guess... Is that when the soothsayers started making sense?"

"Oh, yes, very much so. I mean, they'd always been, shall we say... imprecise? But then the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex, all of them, they saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."

Ember bent her arms until her chin was nearly resting on the edge of the hole. She couldn't see anything specific, but she could sense the earth shaking below. Thanks to the natural quaking, it could easily be missed, but she could tell: there were footsteps hidden.

"Haven't they said anything about tomorrow?" The Doctor asked.

"No." Caecilius replied. "Why, should they? Why do you ask?"

"No, no. No reason. I'm just asking. But the soothsayers, they all consume the vapours, yeah?"

"That's how they see."

"Ipso facto." The Doctor ran his hand over the edge of hypocaust after putting his glasses on.

"Look you..."

He was cut off when the Doctor pulled his hand back, rubbing his fingers. They were covered in loose dirt. "They're all consuming this."

Caecilius looked at it himself. "Dust?"

"Tiny particles of rock." He tasted it, which made Ember pull a face. "They're breathing in Vesuvius."

"They're doing more than that," Ember finally spoke, pulling away from the hypocaust and standing up. The two men watched her as she glared at the hole. "There's more down there than rock. And they're not good."

The Doctor stood and moved to her side, taking her hand. Caecilius looked thoughtful for a long moment before he spoke. "I need to work. You are welcome to stay here."

As he turned and left the room, the Doctor turned to Ember. "I have a question for you. Why did you say your name was Gaia?"

"I dunno." Ember shrugged. "It was the first thing that came to my mind. I think that's a goddess's name, but I'm not sure where from."

"Gaia is the Greek goddess of primordial earth. She was said to be the creator of the earth and the universe."

"Hmm." Ember looked away in thought. Why did that name come to mind? "Not sure why I picked it. I'm no goddess."

"Well, you can create fire. That's something a god could do," the Doctor offered as he stepped closer.

Ember looked up at him as he got closer, finding her breath hitching slightly as he took her hands. She recognised that look; it was the one he'd given her before he kissed her. It even looked like he was about to lean down towards her...

Then the ground shook, forcing them out of their moment in order to keep their balance. Ember mentally cursed at the interruption, but she was also slightly greatful; she was getting too close.

_'You need to stop it'_, she thought to herself. _'You'll only get hurt if you keep crushing on him like this!'_

The Doctor didn't seem to notice her inner struggle, clearing his throat. "So, any hints?"

"Remember Caecilius' face. It's an important lesson that you need to remember," Ember said, catching him off guard as he looked to where the father had just left. "As for the hypocaust... like I said, there's more in that mountain than rock and lava. And Lucius is involved. Petrus Dextrus: It's more than a name."

The Doctor nodded. "So we talk to Lucius, or we poke around his place."

"You'll get more out of option two. But we don't know where he lives. We could use a guide; someone who isn't happy with the way things are going with their sister."

That was easy to figure out, so the Doctor led Ember back to the main villa, where Quintus was sat on the couch with another goblet of wine in his hand.

"Quintus, me old son." The Doctor said. "This Lucius Petrus Dextrus. Where does he live?"

The boy barely looked up. "It's nothing to do with me."

"Let me try again. This Lucius Petrus Dextrus..." The Doctor reached out and made a motion like he'd pulled a coin from the boy's ear. "Where does he live?"

Ember held back a snicker at the suddenly interested look on Quintus' face.

* * *

Night had fallen in Pompeii. The Doctor and Ember followed Quintus through the streets towards another large villa, using a torch to light the way.

Once they got to where Lucius lived, Quintus led them to the side where there was a window. "Don't tell my Dad."

The Doctor did a small run up to get on a barrel below the window and use it to get up to the window, glancing back down at them after opening the shutters. "Only if you don't tell mine." He got inside and then leaned out with a hand. "Pass me that torch."

Ember waited for him to move away from the window before climbing onto the barrel and getting in herself, knowing that Quintus would soon follow. Inside, there was another hypocaust that was larger than the one they'd seen before, and she looked through the grate to see if they were being watched. So far, she couldn't sense any movement below.

The Doctor looked around the room as Quintus climbed through the window, peeking around curtains and drapes until he found something. Handing the boy the torch, he pulled back the drape to reveal several stone plaques that resembled circuit boards.

"The liar." Quintus whispered. "He told my father it was the only one."

The Doctor put on his glasses and examined the plaques. "Well, plenty of marble merchants in this town. Tell them all the same thing, get all the components from different places, so no one can see what you're building."

"Which is what?"

"The future, Doctor." The trio turned to find Lucius entering with room with two guards in armour. "We are building the future, as dictated by the gods."

Ember narrowed her eyes. "How about instead of killing us right away, maybe you can let a man of learning try to figure that out. Because you don't know what order that's supposed to go in. What if you get it wrong?"

Lucius, surprisingly, accepted the offer, nodding to the Doctor. The Time Lord immediately got to work, making Quintus and Ember hold the plaques while he rearranged them.

"Okay... Put this one there. This one there." The Doctor hesitated as he put the last one in place. "Uh, keep that one upside down, and what you got?"

"Enlighten me." Lucius said.

"What, the soothsayer doesn't know?"

"The seed may float on the breeze in any direction."

Ember rolled her eyes. Could this man not just answer in plain English? Or Latin, or whatever language was being translated by the Tardis.

"Yeah, I knew you were going to say that." The Doctor shrugged. "But it's an energy converter."

"An energy converter of what?"

"I don't know. Isn't that brilliant? I love not knowing. Keeps me on my toes." The Doctor then moved to sit on the edge of the table. "It must be awful being a prophet, waking up every morning, 'is it raining? Yes, it is, I said so.' Takes all the fun out of life. But who designed this, Lucius, hmm? Who gave you these instructions?"

"I think you've babbled enough."

"Lucius, really, tell me. Honestly, I'm on your side. I can help."

"You insult the gods." Lucius said. "There can be only one sentence. At arms!"

The guards, who'd moved to the exits to stop them from leaving, drew their short swords.

The Doctor pulled Ember to stand behind him as he and Quintus backed up slightly. "Oh, morituri te salutant."

"Celtic prayers won't help you now."

Quintus looked terrified. "But it was him, sir. He made me do it. Mister Dextrus, please don't!"

"Come on now, Quintus, dignity in death. I respect your victory, Lucius. Shake on it?" The Doctor stuck out his right hand, which Lucius ignored. "Come on. Dying man's wish?"

When there was no verbal response, the Doctor then lunged forward, grabbing the arm that was hidden beneath Lucius' cloak. With one quick jerk and sickening crack that made Lucius cry out, the Doctor pulled the arm away as he stepped back: only to reveal that the limb was solid stone.

Quintus looked at the stone limb in shock. "But he's..."

"Show me." The Doctor said to Lucius.

The man, still scowling, pushed back his cloak to reveal that his right side from the shoulder was stone as well. "The work of the gods."

"He's stone!" Quintus exclaimed.

"Armless enough, though. Whoops!" The Doctor tossed the stone arm back to Lucius, who tried to catch it as the Time Lord pushed Ember towards the window. "Quintus!"

Ember turned and threw out both her hands, one facing the guards and the other towards the stone circuit board. A burst of fire sprung up from the floor in front of the guards to prevent them from advancing, while the ground shook under the plaques, which made them fall to the floor. Using the distraction, Quintus quickly followed the Time Lords out of the window and to the street.

The Doctor led them through the streets until they reached an intersection, stopping so they could regroup. "No sign of them. Nice little bit of allons-y. I think we're all right."

"But his arm, Doctor. Is that what's happening to Evelina?" Quintus asked before he looked at Ember, who was now on one knee with her hands pressed to the floor and her eyes closed. "And you... you brought fire, just like she said..."

"I'll explain later, I promise," Ember said to him, not bothering to look up. She concentrated, feeling the earth beneath them shift, but before she could sense anything else, her head gave a throb and she felt a vision come...

_The Doctor tried to talk to the stone giant, but it didn't have any intention on listening. It breathed fire at the Time Lord, incinerating him in seconds..._

Ember was brought out of the vision by a low rumble beneath her hands. It was short, but strong, and soon followed by another.

The Doctor looked around. "What was that?"

"The mountain?" Quintis suggested.

"Too rhythmical," Ember said. "And it's too close."

The Doctor looked down a street as dogs began to bark and things started falling over. "She's right. I think it's footsteps..."

"It can't be..." Quintus breathed.

"Footsteps underground."

"What is it? What is it?"

Ember stood and ran to the boys, grabbing them both. "It's after us, that's what it is! Let's go!"

They ran again, flinching as several vents and hypocausts blew as they passed, grills flying off with the pressure.

The rumbling and the blowing grills followed them back to Caecilius' villa, where they found the rest of the family, some servants and Donna looking around.

"Caecilius!" The Doctor called as the trio ran in. "All of you, get out!"

"Doctor, what is it?" Donna asked.

"I think we're being followed." The grill of the nearest hypocaust suddenly flew off as steam rose thickly from it. "Just get out!"

But no one listened, watching in confusion and awe as the ground around the hypocaust began to crack and bulge. Then the whole thing broke apart, forced to give way for a massive creature. It looked humanoid, but stood at about ten feet tall and was made of stone that was seemingly jointed with lava. It looked like it wore a helmet of stone as it turned to look at them with yellow eyes.

"The gods are with us!" Evelina gasped.

The Doctor looked at the pond that was between them and the creature. "Water... We need water. Quintus! All of you, get water! Donna!"

As Quintus and Donna ran off to get buckets, a servant stepped closer to the creature. "Blessed are we to see the gods."

The creature turned to him and inhaled, but before it would breathe fire on the helpless human, Ember suddenly jumped forward, throwing her hand out and making a line of fire spring up between them. It obviously didn't scare the creature, it did prevent it from finishing the attack. Ember then used the chance to grab the servant by the back of his robe and yank him back to the rest of the group.

The Doctor stepped forward as the flames dispersed. "Talk to me! That's all I want. Talk to me. Just tell me you are. Don't hurt these people!"

Ember ran over to stand between him and the creature. "It's not going to listen!" She held her hand out toward the pond and closed her eyes to concentrate, and when she opened them, her pupil and sclera were engulfed in liquid silver. The water from the pond suddenly bubbled and rose up like a snake, like she'd done with the swimming pool in the Tardis. It swirled around until it was between the creature and the Time Lords, facing the creature and rearing up. It even expanded at the top like a cobra would do, a sound that might have been watery hiss coming out.

Caecilius and his family looked on in shock as the Doctor watched Ember closely. Sweat was already breaking out on her forehead as she kept her focus on the water.

Then the 'snake' struck, lunging forward and crashing into the stone giant. The shape was lost as the creature was drenched from head to foot, and it gave a low wail as the magma in its body was suddenly cooled and solidified. It became still for a second before it broke apart, falling to the ground in a pile of rocks and dust. By this time, Quintus had returned with a bucket and was now looking on the rest of the humans at the unbelievable event they'd just witnessed.

Ember dropped her hand, and then promptly collapsed. She'd have hit the floor if the Doctor hadn't been quick to catch her. She tiredly looked up at him as he held her, her back against his chest.

"What was that?" Caecilius asked after a moment of quiet.

"Carapace of stone, held together by internal magma." The Doctor replied. "Not too difficult to stop, but I reckon that's just the foot soldier."

"I meant the water! How did she do that? It was like she summoned a serpent..."

"Doctor, or whatever your name is," Metella said, "you bring bad luck on this house."

The Doctor glanced over at the family. "I thought your son was brilliant. Aren't you going to thank him?" He turned his attention back on the brunette in his arms. "Hey... you alright there?"

"Yeah..." Ember slowly got back to her feet, the Doctor letting her use him to steady herself. "Okay, that wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be..."

"You _are_ Gaia..."

Ember turned at the quiet voice. Evelina was looking at her like she'd just performed a miracle. "I'm really not, you know..."

"But you called a serpent of the water..." the young woman said. "I... should never have doubted you..."

"Um..." Ember didn't know what to say about that. Luckily, she didn't have to, as she realised who was missing. "Oh... Doctor? Donna's gone."

The Doctor looked around. "Donna? Donna! Where'd she go?"

"Not here, Doctor." Ember said before turning to Evelina again. "Okay, I know you saw them take her. If you want to make it up to us, just tell us where the temple is. Please."

Evelina looked surprised that she'd been caught, but she was more than willing to give them what she was asked.

* * *

After getting directions to where Donna had been taken, the Doctor and Ember made their way to the temple of the Sibyl. They were quiet as they snuck in and reached the main chamber.

There were several women in red robes at the foot of the steps that led up to an curtained off area. There was also a large, flat altar where Donna was tied to the slab. She was wearing a purple toga that she'd borrowed from Evelina.

"Listen, sister, you might have eyes on the back of your hands, but you'll have eyes in the back of your head by the time I've finished with you!" Donna was saying. "Let me go!"

The leader of the women, who was standing next to the altar, raised a large blade above her head. "This prattling voice will cease forever!"

"Oh, that'll be the day." The Doctor said, having moved to lean against one of the pillars. Ember was leaning against the other side. Everyone looked at them in surprise.

"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sibyl." The woman with the knife said.

The Doctor usher away from the pillar with a shrug. "Well, that's all right. _Just us girls_. Do you know, I met the Sibyl once. Yeah, hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance the Tarantella. Nice teeth. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me. I said it would never last. She said 'I know'. Well, she would." He reached the altar and looked down at Donna. "You all right there?"

"Oh, never better."

"I like the toga."

"Thank you. And the ropes?"

"Yeah, not so much." With a flick of his Sonic, the ropes came undone.

The woman with the knife looked surprised. "What magic is this?"

Ember tilted her head. "You must have seen what I can do, right, Spurrina?"

That made the woman turn to look at her in shock. "How did you know my name?"

"I know a lot more than that."

The Doctor spoke, getting the attention back on himself. "Let me tell you about the Sibyl, the founder of this religion. She would be ashamed of you. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, hey? On the blade of a knife?"

"Yes, a knife that now welcomes you!" Spurrina raised her blade again, but was interrupted.

"Show me this man and woman." A grating voice that barely identified as being female spoke from behind the veil at the top of the steps.

Spurinna turned in an instant, the other women going to their knees and bowing low. "High Priestess, the strangers would defile us!"

"Let me see. These two are different. They carry starlight in their wake."

The Doctor approached the steps. "Oh, very perceptive. Where do these words of wisdom come from?"

A form could just about be seen through the veil: a humanoid sitting up on what appeared to be a bed. "The gods whisper to me."

"They've done far more than that. Might I beg audience? Look upon the High Priestess?"

Two of the women went up the steps and pulled the veil aside. On the bed that was revealed was another woman in red robes, but her body looked like dry and crusted earth.

"Oh, my God!" Donna gasped. "What's happened to you?"

"The heavens have blessed me." The High Priestess wheezed.

The Doctor held out his hand. "If I might...?" He approached and gently took her arm when she offered it to him, examining the skin. "Does it hurt?"

"It is necessary."

"Who told you that?"

"The voices."

"Is that what's going to happen to Evelina?" Donna asked before she looked at the other women. "Is this what's going to happen to all of you?"

Spurinna stepped forward and pulled back her sleeve, revealing that her forearm was grey and solid. "The blessings are manifold."

Donna reached out to touch it. "They're stone."

The Doctor nodded. "Exactly. The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts. But why?"

"This word, this image in your mind." The High Priestess said. "This volcano. What is that?"

"More to the point, why don't you know about it? Who are you?"

"High Priestess of the Sibylline-"

"No, no, no, no." The Doctor cut her off. "I'm talking to the creature inside you. The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust, in the lungs, taking over the flesh and turning it into... what?"

"Your knowledge is impossible." The High Priestess looked at Ember, which made the brunette tense. "And you... who calls upon fire and summons serpents of water... you _are_ impossible..."

The Doctor spoke before Ember could. "Oh, but you can read our minds. You know it's not. I demand you tell me who you are."

When the High Priestess spoke again, it was with two voices; her own and a much deeper one that definitely wasn't human. **"We... are... awakening!"**

"The voice of the gods!" Spurinna gasped.

Her sisters sat up on their knees and began rocking while chanting "Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom..."

The Doctor didn't acknowledge them, keeping his attention on the High Priestess as she slowly climbed off the bed. "Name yourself! Planet of origin, galactic coordinates, species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation!"

**"We are... rising!"**

"TELL ME YOUR NAME!"

**"Pyrovile!"**

The sister's chanting changed. "Pyrovile. Pyrovile. Pyrovile..."

"What's a Pyrovile?" Donna asked.

The Doctor nodded at the High Priestess. "Well, that's a Pyrovile, growing inside her. She's a halfway stage."

"What, and that turns into...?"

"That thing in the villa. That was an adult Pyrovile."

**"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor!"** The High Priestess exclaimed.

Ember moved forward at that. "It'll have to get past me first, and I'm a lot harder to burn."

The Doctor took out a yellow water pistol from his pocket. "I warn you, I'm armed. Donna, get that grill open."

Donna looked at the grill. "What for?"

"Just..." The Doctor gestured with his head before focusing on the High Priestess. "What are the Pyrovile doing here?"

**"We fell from the heavens. We fell so far and so fast, we were rendered into dust."**

"Right, creatures of stone shattered on impact. When was that, seventeen years ago?"

**"We have slept beneath for thousands of years."**

"Okay, so seventeen years ago woke you up, and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourselves. But why the psychic powers?"

**"We opened their minds and found such gifts."**

"Okay, that's fine." The Doctor was getting impatient. "So you force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that, I get that, yeah. But seeing the future? That is way beyond psychic. You can see through time. Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"

"Got it!" Donna called, finally getting the grill off the hypocaust.

The Doctor backed up, making sure Ember was with him. "Now get down."

"What, down there?"

"Yes, down there!" The Doctor shot back before facing the women again. "Why can't this lot predict a volcano? Why is it being hidden?"

The High Priestess looked at Ember. **"Why not ask her? She has seen our futures like stories. Does she not know?"**

"I know what's supposed to happen and what shouldn't," the brunette replied. "And I'll tell you now, what you're doing won't happen."

"Sisters, I see into his mind!" Spurinna suddenly cried. "The weapon is harmless!"

"Yeah, but it's got to sting." The Doctor used the pistol, squirting water at the High Priestess. She recoiled in pain as the water sizzled on her skin, nowhere near damaging but enough to give the Doctor time to grab Ember by the hand and lead her to the open hypocaust as the sisters ran to help their leader. "Get down there!"

"You first! I'm fireproof!" Ember insisted, and then Doctor reluctantly complied. Before the brunette followed, though, she turned to the sisters, locking eyes with Spurrina. "This is your last chance: Get out of Pompeii while it's still standing. If you don't, you will all burn."

With that, she put her feet into the hypocaust and jumped down into it, landing in a narrow passageway. She was lucky not to land on the Doctor, who'd been waiting for her.

The Doctor took her hand and pulled her with him along the passage. "This way!"

"Where are we going now?" Donna asked.

"Into the volcano."

"No way!"

"Yes, way! Appian way!"

Donna followed them through the hot tunnels, and then a thought struck her. "But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right for you to stop it?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Still part of history."

"But I'm history to you. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"

"Some things are fixed, some things are in flux. Pompeii is fixed."

"Donna, please leave it," Ember tried to warn her, but she didn't listen.

"How do you know which is which?"

The Doctor stopped, turning to the woman. "Because that's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And Ember and I are the only ones left."

"Is that how you see it?" Donna asked Ember.

"Kind of." The brunette admitted. "It hurts my head when something disrupts the timeline too much. And that's best case scenario: you haven't met the Reapers, and you don't want to."

For a moment it looked like Donna was going to drop it, but then she looked at the Doctor. "How many people died?"

"Stop it." He warned.

"Doctor, how many people died?"

"Twenty thousand."

"Is that what you can see, Doctor? All twenty thousand? And you think that's all right, do you?"

Ember moved to stand between the pair, her eyes narrowed. "It's not a matter of what's right or wrong. Sometimes... bad things have to happen. We just don't have to like it."

There was a low roar from the passage they'd come from. The Doctor backtracked and took the two women by the hands. "They know we're here. Come on."

The trio ran on, climbing over rocks and avoiding plumes of fire and pools of lava, until they arrived at a massive carvern or crater. They carefully looked over a large rock to see several large, stone creatures walking around.

"It's the heart of Vesuvius." The Doctor said. "We're right inside the mountain."

"There's tons of them." Donna said, eyeing the creatures.

Ember pat the Doctor on the arm and pointed to something. Squinting, the Doctor got a monocular out of his pocket to get a better look. It looked like a boulder, but it had a door in the side. "What's that thing?"

"Oh, you better hurry up and think of something." Donna said, hearing footsteps behind them. "Rocky Fall's on its way."

"That's how they arrived. Or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?"

"But why do they need a volcano? Maybe it erupts, and they launch themselves back into space or something?"

"If it was that easy, I'd have made us leave by now." Ember said. "But it's worse than that."

"How could it be worse?" Another rumble came from behind them. "Doctor, it's getting closer."

"Heathens defile us!" A voice yelled. The trio looked to where Lucius was standing on a ridge. From his vantage point, he was able to see them easily. "They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods!"

The Doctor couldn't see any other way out, so he led the girls towards the pod in the centre of the cavern. "Come on!"

Donna was quick to catch on. "We can't go in!"

"Well, we can't go back!"

Crush them!" Lucius yelled. "Burn them!"

A Pyrovile reared up in front of the trio, but Ember was quick to make a line of flames appear so that they could get around it and reach the pod.

"There is nowhere to run, Doctor, and daughter of London, and bringer of fire." Lucius said.

The Doctor turned and faced them. "Now then, Lucius. My lords Pyrovillian, don't get yourselves in a lather. In a lava?" He looked at the ladies. "No? No. But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish. Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?"

"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. An almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilisation."

"But if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" Donna called.

"The Heaven of Pyrovillia is gone."

The Doctor frowned. "What do you mean, gone? Where's it gone?"

"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise."

"Yeah, I should warn you, it's seventy percent water out there."

"Water can boil." Lucius said. "And everything will burn, Doctor."

"Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you. That's all I needed to know. Donna, Ember." The Doctor ushered the girls into the pod, closing the door with his Sonic. Inside, it was a little cramped, what with the small space and the marble circuit board that had been put in.

"Could we be any more trapped?" Donna said, then flinched as the temperature suddenly increased, more so than it already was. "Little bit hot."

Ember put her hands on either side of the walls, closing her eyes and concentrating. The temperature didn't raise any more, though it was already like a sauna. "I can keep the heat out, but I dunno for how long! This is the first time I'm doing this!"

The Doctor was quick to examine the control panel that the circuit boards were attached to. "See? The energy converter takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions."

"But can't you change it with these controls?" Donna asked.

"Of course I can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano! Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're going to use it to take over the world."

"But you can change it back?"

"I can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up, yes. But, that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world."

Donna finally figured out what that meant. "Oh, my God."

"If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history... it's me." The Doctor breathed. "I make it happen."

"Hate to rush you, but this ain't getting any easier!" Ember called.

Donna leaned over the Doctor's shoulder. "Doctor, the Pyrovile are made of rocks. Maybe they can't be blown up."

"Vesuvius explodes with the force of twenty four nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it. Certainly not us."

"...Never mind us."

The Doctor put his hands on a large stone lever, though they were trembling. "Push this lever and it's over. Twenty thousand people..."

Donna slowly put her hands over his on the lever. Just before she urged them to push, a third pair covered their hands, feeling very hot. They both looked up to see that Ember had joined them. With one unified nod, the trio pushed the lever down.

The result was almost instant: there was a massive explosion from outside, and the whole place shook. Ember probably would have been flung at a wall if it weren't for the Doctor holding her to his own body.

Then there was one last thud, and everything stilled. Donna, who was closest to the door, pushed it slightly and it fell away, revealing that they'd landed just outside of town.

"It was an escape pod." The Doctor said.

Ember looked back at the mountain, seeing the avalanche of ash barrelling down from the top, which was spewing lava and rocks. "We need to go. Now!"

The trio ran, miraculously staying ahead of the worst of the fallout as the smoke and ash from the eruption blocked out the sunlight. They reached the town, the residents running in panic as ash was falling like snow around them.

"Don't go to the beach!" Donna was yelling to anyone they passed. "Don't go to the beach, go to the hills! Listen to me! Don't go to the beach, it's not safe!" She saw a young boy crying alone and went to comfort him. "Come here..."

A woman, hopefully the mother, appeared and picked up the boy. "Give him to me!"

Ember stepped in front of her, grabbing her arm and meeting her gaze as her eyes flashed silver. "Go to the hills if you want to live."

The woman, though scared, saw something in those silver eyes that made her listen, and she nodded before running off with her child. Ember turned to take Donna's hand and catch up with the Doctor, who was waiting for them before they all ran to the villa where the Tardis was parked.

Inside the villa, Caecilius, Metella, Quintus and Evelina were huddled together, scared. The father saw the trio run in and held out his hand. "Gods save us, Doctor!"

The Doctor paused for only a moment before he ran to the Tardis, unlocking the door and going inside.

"No! Doctor, you can't..." Donna said, running after him. "Doctor!"

"Gaia!" Ember turned at the call, to see Evelina looking at her. "Please, Gaia! Have mercy!"

Ember ran over to them and knelt. "Pray. For the next ten seconds, pray. And we will answer."

She then stood and ran into the Tardis, closing the door just before the blue box disappeared from the villa. Inside, Donna was yelling at the Doctor.

"You've got to go back! Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back! It's not fair!"

"No, it's not." The Doctor agreed, though he made no attempt to backtrack.

"But your own planet... It burned."

"That's just it. Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would. But I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't... I can't..."

Donna was openly weeping and not caring who saw. "Just someone... Please... Not the whole town. Just save someone."

The Doctor was about to reply when the Tardis suddenly lurched. He looked at the other side of the console and saw Ember doing something on the control panel. "What are you doing?"

"Stopping you from making a big mistake!" She said, not looking at either of them as she flipped a switch. "The town of Pompeii has to fall, and twenty thousand people die. But there are more than twenty thousand people in the town, isn't there?" She finally met the Doctor's gaze. "You can't always save everyone. But sometimes, you can save one family."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, and then he nodded, moving to help her. Ember made sure they landed exactly ten seconds after they'd left, and then the Doctor ran to the doors and opened it to look at the family still huddled together.

He held out his hand. "Come with me."

Caecilius reaches out, taking the offered hand.

* * *

On a hill overlooking Pompeii, the Doctor, Ember, Donna and the family looked on as their home was engulfed in volcanic ash.

"It's never forgotten, Caecilius." The Doctor said after a few moments. "Oh, time will pass, men'll move on, and stories will fade. But one day, Pompeii will be found again. In thousands of years. And everyone will remember you."

"What about you, Evelina?" Donna asked. "Can you see anything?"

Evelina closed her eyes. "The visions have gone."

"The explosion was so powerful it cracked open a rift in time, just for a second." The Doctor explained. "That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not any more. You're free."

Metella shock her head. "But tell me. Who are you, Doctor? With your words, and your temple containing such size within?"

"Oh, I was never here. Don't tell anyone."

Evelina turned to Ember. "Thank you for saving us, Gaia."

"My friends call me Ember," the brunette said with a shrug. "You can call me that too."

"The great god Vulcan must be enraged." Caecilius said, looking at the town as it slowly vanished under the ash. "It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of volcano. All those people..."

The family huddled together to grieve, allowing the travelling trio to sneak into the Tardis and leave.

Donna smiled at the Doctor. "Thank you."

"Yeah." The Doctor replied. "You were right. Sometimes I need someone. Welcome aboard."

Ember smiled. "You're gonna love it."

* * *

Six months later, as the family from Pompeii settled into their new lives in Rome, they would give thanks every day to their household gods: depicted by a stone carving of a woman with serpents of fire and water flanking her and a familiar box...

* * *

And there we have it! It's a bit later in the day than I wanted, but I still got it up on a Monday! Let me know what you think, and feel free to ask questions! I'll add my replies in the next chapter.

Next Time: Ember drops in on another companion's first meeting with the Doctor. But which one? Stay tuned to find out!


	21. Chapter Twenty One: Rose

And here's a new one for you! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Twenty One: Rose

* * *

Ember decided she needed to get the ash and dirt off her skin and hair, and ended up spending nearly half an hour in that shower. Thankfully, she didn't jump, so she was able to get cleaned up. When she was done, she got dressed in a pair of white denim shorts, black leggings, a new red top and red all stars. Her denim jacket, which she'd feared was ruined, was found neatly hanging over the back of her desk chair, clean and dry. She thanked the Tardis for that.

When she returned to the console room, she found the Doctor working under the grill floor that surrounded the console, one section lifted up to give him access. Ember moved to kneel above him and look through the grating. "Heya, Doctor."

"Ah! I was beginning to think you'd jumped!" The Doctor looked up to grin at her. "Enjoy your shower?"

"Oh yeah. Needed to get all that ash out of my hair." Ember replied, shifting to sit cross-legged on the floor beside the open grate. "I'm just glad I didn't jump mid-shower again."

"Ah, I remember that. The look on Jack's and Rose's faces were priceless!" The Doctor laughed, though it didn't last long. Ember sent him a look and a raised brow that told him that she wasn't buying it, and he sighed. "You knew I'd destroy Pompeii, didn't you?"

"Of course."

"I really wish you'd told me."

Ember tilted her head. "So when you were saying that Pompeii had to be destroyed, you expect me to have jumped in and said 'oh, don't worry, you're the one that blows it up'? You know I couldn't tell you." She hesitated, and then reached out to put her hand over his where it was on the edge of the grate. "Look, I'm sorry you were the one to push the button. Doing that once is something no one should ever have to do, never mind more than once. But I know that you didn't do it to keep the timelines intact, or to kill thousands of people: you did it to save them. If the Pyroviles succeeded, who knows what would have happened, how many millions they would kill or convert."

The Doctor nodded, moving his other hand to cover hers. "Yeah. Thanks... for being there."

"I'll be there whenever I can," Ember promised. Then she sat up, ready to change the topic. "So! What's next?"

"Well, Donna's having a nap, but once I've finished this repair work, I was thinking... mystery tour?"

"Not a mystery for me: I already know where you're going." Ember said, then looked thoughtful. "Oh, and by the way, when the next me appears, I'm gonna need some help, if I remember right."

"Help? With what?"

"Heartburn. Kind of."

The Doctor nodded, seemingly knowing better than to push for answers. "Speaking of remembering, I know where you're going next too. I remember that outfit."

"Oh? And where am I going?" Ember felt the burning sensation appear right at that moment. "Guess I'm about to find out."

"Meet me by the elevator."

The brunette was puzzled by that, but she jumped before she could ask. When she landed next, she looked around to find herself in what looked like a basement, complete with metal pipes on the ceiling and concrete walls. Ember pushed herself to her feet and turned around on the spot, quickly spotting a large, metal door that looked like an elevator. "Ah. So that's what he meant."

Just as she reached the elevator and pressed the button to call it, the double doors on the other side of the room burst open, and in ran none other than Rose Tyler and the Ninth Doctor. They both stopped when they saw the brunette at the elevator, but only the latter recognised her.

"Ember!" He said. "Ah, so that's what you meant when you said to meet you by the elevator."

Ember blinked. "But you said that to me just before I got here."

"No, you said 'meet me by the elevator' just before you up and left. Kind of expected a bigger show, if I'm honest."

"Well, it feels worse than it looks. Kind of like getting heartburn but worse." Ember looked at Rose, who looked _so_ confused right now. "Attack of the killer dummies?"

Before Rose could answer, the doors they'd come from opened again, revealing shop window dummies that were walking on their own. At the same time, the elevator dinged and opened its doors for them. The trio were quick to get in, the Doctor pressing the button, but just at the doors closed, one of the dummies stuck it's arm in. The Doctor was quick to grab it, and after a few tugs was able to yank it off, allowing the doors to close and the lift to move.

"You pulled his arm off..." Rose finally spoke, staring at the arm in shock.

"Yep." The Doctor nodded, tossing her the arm. "Plastic."

"Very clever. Nice trick! Who were they then, students? Is this a student thing or what?"

"Why would they be students?"

"I don't know."

"Well, you said it. Why students?"

Rose shook her head. "Cause... to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they got to be students."

The Doctor nodded at that logic. "That makes sense. Well done."

"Thanks..."

"They're not students." The Doctor said at the same time as Ember, which made the former raise a brow at the latter.

"Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's going to call the police." Rose said.

"Who's Wilson?" The Doctor asked.

"Chief electrician."

"...Wilson's dead."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, allowing the Doctor to step out. Ember and Rose followed as the latter spoke. "That's just not funny. That's sick!"

"Hold on. Mind your eyes."

"I've had enough of this now." Rose said, stepping back when Ember urged her. The Doctor pointed his Sonic at the buttons for the lift, which sparked. The doors remained open even as they left. "Who are you, then? Who's that lot down there? I said, who are they?"

"They're made of plastic." The Doctor said as he led the way through the corridor, the girls following. "Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He held up what looked like a big remote. "So, I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might well die in the process, but don't worry about me. No, you go home. Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast." He opened a fire door and ushered Rose out. "Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed."

With that, he shut the door, only to turn and nearly bump into Ember. The brunette raised a brow at him. "Don't you want to know her name?"

The Doctor tilted his head. "Why?"

"Because you'll see her again."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, but then he turned and pushed open the fire door again, finding Rose still standing there. "I'm the Doctor, by the way, and this is Ember. What's your name?"

"...Rose."

"Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!" He waved the device in his hand and then closed the door again, smirking at Ember as he passed her. "Better?"

"Yep." Ember said, turning to follow.

"Dunno how I'm gonna see her again, though."

Ember shrugged as they headed for the stairs. "You bump into her again. And a third time. That's all I'm saying." They were quiet as they ran for a few minutes before she spoke again. "So... this is the first time I've jumped for you?"

"Yeah. You told me not to tell you much, though. You travel up and down my timeline, can see one possible future and have certain powers that you might not have right now." He looked back at her. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Well, I... actually haven't kept track." Ember admitted, realising just that. "One day I just woke up and you were there, hugging me and knowing me. Had a bit of culture shock. If I have to put a number on it, I'd guess... maybe a year and a half? Close to two?"

The Doctor nodded as they reached the stairs. "So, still not gonna tell me where you came from?"

"Don't know myself yet. Still getting riddles about it. Even got another nickname in the last jump."

"What's that, then?"

"Gaia."

"The Greek Goddess of the Earth and primordial deities. Said to be the creator of the earth and the universe." The Doctor rattled off the quick description. "How'd you get that name?"

"By doing things people thought only gods could do." Ember smirked. "Can't say any more. That's a long way in your future."

"So I don't blow up tonight? That's nice."

The two laughed as they reached the roof, easily spotting the large satellite dish that was there. The Doctor was quick to set up the little bomb and then grab Ember's hand as they ran, going down the stairs as quickly as possible. They'd barely reached the exit they'd sent Rose out of when there was a massive explosion from the roof, big enough to take out the top floor of the building as well.

"You love to start the party with a bang," Ember teased as the Doctor led her to where he'd parked the Tardis, not realising that Rose had passed it just minutes before. "You realise that this isn't over, right?"

"Figured as much when I saw the relay," the Doctor said as he unlocked the Tardis and let the brunette in first. "It was just a booster. We need to find the main controller."

"I can give you a hint: you can track it if you got something that receives the signal."

The Doctor, puzzled, walked up to the console and pressed a few buttons and switches not only to set the Tardis into flight but to try to find what he was looking for. He looked at the monitor and grinned at what he saw. "You're right! I can't get a fix on where the signal came from, but I can track where it's going. Then we just get whatever is receiving the signal and backtrack it. Simple!"

"Maybe not as simple as you think." Ember pointed out. "So, let me guess: We're headed for the Powell Estate, London."

"No! We're going to..." the Doctor paused as the location came up on the screen. "... some flats."

"Which is where?"

"... the Powell Estate, London. Hush, you."

Ember smirked as they landed, letting him lead the way out and onto a normal looking street. She let the Doctor lead her until they reached a familiar council estate that had a block of flats reaching about twenty floors up. The Doctor, using his Sonic to track the signal, led them into the building and up the stairs, though Ember knew exactly where they were going.

Sure enough, they reached the front door of one of the flats, where the Sonic was reacting the strongest. Ember glanced down at the cat flap and nudged it with her foot, knowing who was on the other side. The Doctor, having seen the move, knelt down to try to look through the flap, only to spot a familiar blonde woman looking back at him. He jumped to his feet just as the door opened and Rose looked at them.

"What're you doing here?" The Doctor asked.

"I live here." Rose replied.

"Well, what'd you do that for?"

"Because I do. I'm only at home because _someone_ blew up my job."

"I must have got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?" The Doctor looked at his Sonic before reaching out and knocking on Rose's forehead like a door. "No, bonehead. Bye, then."

Rose grabbed the back of his jacket as he turned to walk away. "You. Inside. Right now."

Ember followed obediently, closing the door behind her as Jackie called from her bedroom. "Who is it?"

"It's about last night." Rose said, glancing in the bedroom where her mother was doing her making while wearing her dressing gown. "He's part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes."

"She deserves compensation." Jackie called as the Doctor and Ember passed the doorway.

"Oh, we're talking millions." The Doctor replied. Ember moved slightly further down the hall.

Jackie paused, looking at the Doctor. "I'm in my dressing gown."

"Yes, you are." He didn't quite get it yet.

"There's a strange man in my bedroom."

"Yes, there is."

"Well, anything could happen."

_Now_ the Doctor caught the flirtatious tone, and shook his head. "No." He moved on, catching Ember biting her lip to keep from laughing. "Hush, you."

The brunette shrugged, following him to the living room, where they could see Rose in the attached kitchen through the serving hatch in the wall.

"Don't mind the mess." Rose was saying. "Do you want a coffee?"

The Doctor looked around the room curiously. "Might as well, thanks. Just milk."

"Not for me, thank you." Ember added.

Rose began to set up drinks for herself and the Doctor. "We should go to the police. Seriously. All of us."

Ember moved to the Doctor's side as he picked up a magazine from the coffee table, flicking through the pages until he stopped at an article about a celebrity couple. "That won't last; he's gay and she's an alien."

"Hmm, didn't expect it to be them," Ember said, looking at the photo. "Wonder who had the harder time coming out with it?"

Rose didn't seem to hear them, as she kept talking. "I'm not blaming you, even if it was just some sort of joke that went wrong..."

The Doctor picked up a book and flicked through it. "Hmm. Sad ending."

"They said on the news they'd found a body..."

"Rose Tyler." He read the name on the letters he'd found on the coffee table before catching sight of himself in a small mirror that hung on the wall. "Ah, could've been worse. Look at the ears." He turned when he heard Ember snort in an attempt to hide the laugh. "No jokes."

"Not one," Ember promised.

"All the same, he was nice." Rose continued. "Nice bloke. Anyway, if we are going to go to the police, I want to know what I'm saying..."

"Luck be a lady..." The Doctor picked up a deck of playing cards, though he was only able to do a shuffle once before he sent the cards flying on the second attempt. "Maybe not..."

Ember heard a scuttling sound behind her, and moved to look over the back of the sofa while the Doctor looked around and asked "What's that, then? You got a cat?"

"No. We did have, but now they're just strays. They come in off the estate."

At the same moment, the plastic arm that the Doctor had ripped off the dummy earlier leapt out, not from behind the sofa where Ember had expected, but from behind the chair to grab the Doctor by the throat. He made a choked sound and flailed as Ember quickly ran to help.

Rose came in from the kitchen carrying two mugs, though she merely rolled her eyes at the sight of the plastic arm. "I told Mickey to chuck that out. You're all the same. Give a man a plastic hand. Anyway, I don't even know your name. Doctor, what was it?"

The Doctor finally got the hand off of his throat and threw it back, but it stopped in mid-air and turned to go for Rose. Only she was pushed aside at the last moment by Ember, who ended up with a plastic hand over her face. Almost instantly, she couldn't breathe, and she flailed. She felt someone trying to pull it off.

"Hold still!" The Doctor called to her, which made her force herself to stop moving so that he could use his Sonic on the hand without dealing with a struggling person. Just as Ember felt her respiratory bypass kick in, the plastic hand left her face, allowing her to drop onto the couch and take a deep breath as the Doctor pressed the Sonic against the palm of the hand. The fingers twitched and then stilled. "It's all right, I've stopped it. There you go, you see? Armless."

Ember jumped slightly as she caught the arm he tossed at her. "Oh really?" She swung the arm to hit his, making him flinch back with a yelp. "You're lucky I can hold my breath for longer."

"Sorry, you alright?" The Doctor helped her up. He glanced at Rose, who was leaning against the far wall and staring at them in shock. "Bye, Rose."

With that, he took the plastic arm from Ember before he grabbed her hand and led her out of the flat, going right to the stairs they'd come up. They were barely one floor down when Rose caught up to them.

"Hold on a minute!" She called after them. "You can't just go swanning off."

"Yes we can. Here we are. This is us, swanning off. See ya!"

"But that arm was moving. It tried to kill me!"

"But it didn't, thanks to Ember. Nine out of ten for observation."

"You can't just walk away. That's not fair. You've got to tell me what's going on!"

"No, I don't."

Rose still followed even as they reached the bottom of the stairs and out onto the estate. "All right, then. I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone. You said, if I did that, I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell me, or... I'll start talking."

The Doctor looked at her. "Is that supposed to sound tough?"

"...Sort of."

"Doesn't work."

"Who are you?" Rose asked.

"Told you. The Doctor."

"Yeah, but Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor.

"The Doctor."

"Hello!" The Doctor waved.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?"

"Sort of."

"Come on, then. You can tell me. I've seen enough. Are you the police?"

"No, we were just... passing through. We'rea long way from home."

Ember took his hand, squeezing it twice to lend him some comfort. He returned the gesture.

"But what have I done wrong?" Rose asked, not noticing just how sore the spot she'd poked was. "How comes those plastic things keep coming after me?"

"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around you." The Doctor retorted. "You were just an accident. You got in the way, that's all."

"It tried to kill me!"

"It was after us, not you. Last night, in the shop, we were there, you blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking us down. The only reason it fixed on you is 'cos you've met us."

"So what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you?"

"Sort of, yeah."

"You're full of it."

"Sort of, yeah."

Ember held up a hand. "But he does it brilliantly, I want to add."

Rose couldn't help a smile at that as they passed the garages for the estate. "But, all this plastic stuff... Who else knows about it?"

"No one."

"What, you're on your own?"

"Well, who else is there?" The Doctor asked. "I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly, while all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on."

Rose took a breath before she spoke, taking the plastic arm off of him. "Okay. Start from the beginning. I mean, if we're going to go with the living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do, how did you kill it?"

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal; dead."

"So that's radio control?"

"Thought control. Are you all right?"

"Yeah. So, who's controlling it, then?"

"Long story."

"But what's it all for? I mean, shop window dummies, what's that about?" Rose giggled despite her question. "Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?"

The Doctor chuckled as well. "No."

"No."

"It's not a price war." The Doctor then turned serious. "They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?"

Rose looked at him. "No."

"But you're still listening."

"Really, though, Doctor." Rose stopped walking. "Tell me, who are you?"

Ember stopped, making the Doctor do the same as he hadn't let go of her hand. When he looked at her, she nodded her head towards the blonde. He rolled his eyes but spoke. "Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still." He moved closer to Rose, taking her hand. "I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it."

Ember closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the earth shifting beneath her feet, turning just like he said.

"We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go..." as if to demonstrate, the Doctor dropped her hand. "That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler." He then took the plastic arm and waved it at her. "Go home."

With that, he walked away, taking Ember with him as he headed for the Tardis that was just on the other side of the street now. He let Ember in first and went right to the console to leave and begin attaching the arm to wires.

"She won't forget, you know," Ember said after a few minutes. "She'll try, but it'll come back to her."

"How so?" The Doctor asked, not looking up from his work.

"Why did the arm go after her?"

"Because she... met me..." The Doctor looked up at that, meeting the brunette's gaze. "It's going to go after her again, isn't it?"

Ember nodded. "But they'll have figured out by now that an arm won't be enough. They need to step it up."

"Then we need to track it. Any hints where they're going to be?"

"Pizza restaurant. Tonight."

The Doctor frowned as he read the results from the scan on the screen. "Can't track it back through the arm. It's too simple."

Ember smirked. "You need something better. Like a head."

"Another hint?"

"Yep."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, moving to unplug the arm and toss it aside. "You could have told me that earlier, you know."

"But then we wouldn't have run into Rose again."

"And what's so special about her?"

"Spoilers."

* * *

Once they'd found a signal they could track, the Tardis landed in a back alley behind a restaurant at night. Ember was quick to lead the Doctor to the back door to a corridor, which led to the kitchen - flashing the psychic paper at the staff to avoid questions - which then led to the public area of the restaurant. People were minding their own business, eating and chatting, which included a familiar blonde sat at a table with a dark-skinned man... who looked a little too shiny.

Ember pointed them out to the Doctor, who in turn put a finger to his lips before he grabbed a champagne bottle from a bucket of ice. He then approached the couple, now able to hear them talking.

"I'm not going on about it, Mickey." Rose was saying, oblivious to the fact that the thing sitting in front of her was not her boyfriend. "Really, I'm not, because, I know it sounds daft, but I don't think it's safe. I think he's dangerous."

"But you can trust me, sweetheart-Babe-sugar-babe-sugar." 'Mickey' said, twitching weirdly as he spoke. "You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really want to do, sweetheart-babe-babe-sugar-sweetheart."

Rose blinked at the twitching and sudden changes in pitch. "What're you doing that for?"

The Doctor reached their table and held out the bottle. "Your champagne."

"We didn't order any champagne." 'Mickey' said without looking up, his hand tightening over Rose's on the table. "Where's the Doctor?"

The Doctor went round the table to stand beside Rose. "Madam, your champagne."

"It's not ours." Rose told him distractedly. "Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I need to find out how much he knows, so where is he?"

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?" The Doctor asked.

"Look, we didn't order it-" 'Mickey' finally looked up and saw who it was. "Ah. Gotcha."

Rose looked up at the Doctor as he began to shake the bottle. "Don't mind me. I'm just toasting the happy couple. On the house!"

He pulled the cap off, sending the cork flying at 'Mickey's' head. Instead of bouncing off a normal forehead, it sunk _into_ it, his face morphing around it until he spat it out of his mouth. "Anyway..."

The plastic imposter stood up and held out his hand, which morphed into a flat chopper, which he then slammed onto the table to make it collapse as Rose jumped back with a cry. Other customers screamed as the Doctor lunged forward, grabbing 'Mickey' in a headlock. He tugged once, twice and then a third time before the head came off with a _pop!_

Then 'Mickey' opened his eyes and glared at the Doctor. "Don't think that's going to stop me."

The now headless body stood up and flailed around blindly, making more people scream. Ember, who was next to Rose, used her elbow to set off a fire alarm next to them.

Rose caught on as the alarm blared. "Everyone out! Out now! Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Ember grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the kitchen, the Doctor following with 'Mickey's' head as the body stumbled after them. They ran through the kitchen and down the corridor to the back door, where the Doctor closed and locked the door with his Sonic. Less than a moment later, there was thudding from the other side, and dents were already forming in door.

Rose ran right past the Tardis in favour of the gate, but it was locked. "Open the gate! Use that tube thing. Come on!"

The Doctor calmly walked towards the Tardis. "Sonic screwdriver."

"Use it!"

"Nah. Tell you what, let's go in here." He smiled at Ember as she opened the door for him, and then he went straight to the console to plug the head in.

Ember watched with amusement as Rose ran into the Tardis, stared for a whole second, and then ran out again. Then she came back in about twenty seconds later. "It's going to follow us!"

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried." The Doctor said, working away at the console to follow the signal to the plastic head. "Now, shut up a minute. You see, the arm was too simple, but the head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source." He finally turned to face the shocked blonde. "Right. Where do you want to start?"

"Uh... the inside's bigger than the outside?" Rose said, somewhat lamely.

"Yes."

"It's alien."

"Yeah."

"...Are you alien?"

"Yes." The Doctor nodded. "Is that all right?"

"...Yeah."

Ember held up her hand from where she was leaning against the console. "I am too, by the way, but I'm a bit more complicated."

"It's called the Tardis, this thing." The Doctor nodded to the interior. "T A R D I S. That's Time And Relative Dimension In Space." He watched as Rose suddenly burst into tears, Ember going to her side to lend a shoulder to lean on. "That's okay. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us."

"Did they kill him? Mickey?" Rose asked. "Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?"

"Oh. I didn't think of that."

"He's my boyfriend! You pulled off his head! They copied him and you didn't even think? And now you're just going to let him melt?"

"Melt?" The Doctor looked bad at the console, to find the plastic head was indeed melting. He ran to it to try to stop it or track the signal before it was too late. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!"

Rose would have fallen over at the sudden lurch if it weren't for Ember grabbing the railing to keep them upright. "What're you doing?"

"Following the signal! It's fading. Wait a minute, I've got it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Almost there!"

Ember pulled Rose to the railing so that they could both hold on. "It's always a bumpy ride. And don't worry about Mickey: he's alive!"

The Doctor was almost frantic. "Almost there! Here we go!"

The Tardis landed with a thud, and the Doctor ran to the doors. Ember quickly followed.

"You can't go out there! It's not safe!" Rise called as she ran out after them, only to pause as she realised that they were no longer in an alley, but on Westminster Bridge, near the north bank of the River Thames.

"I lost the signal, I got so close." The Doctor was muttering.

"We've moved... Does it fly?"

"Disappears there and reappears here. You wouldn't understand."

"If we're... somewhere else, what about that headless thing? It's still on the loose!"

"It melted with the head. Are you going to witter on all night?"

"I'll have to tell his mother." Rose felt her temper flare at the puzzled look on the Doctor's face. "Mickey. I'll have to tell his mother he's dead, and you just went and forgot him, again! You were right, you are alien."

The Doctor bristled. "Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey-"

"Yeah, he's not a kid."

"-It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, all right?"

"All right!"

"Yes, it is!"

Ember moved to stand between them. "Settle down! Rose, Mickey is fine. He's not dead."

"How do you know?" Rose asked.

"Let's say I have a thing for knowing what's going to happen."

"... you mean you know the future?"

Ember tilted her head. "And I've been there."

"If you knew this was going to happen, why didn't you warn me at the flat? Or at the shop?"

"Because things had to go the way they did. Just because I know bits of the future doesn't mean I can change it."

The Doctor stepped forward. "Foreknowledge is dangerous. In the wrong hands, it can lead to disaster."

"But I can give hints to help." Ember added.

Rose didn't look convinced. "Prove it."

Ember rolled her eyes. "Alright. I know what happened between us crashing your flat and then your date at the restaurant: You looked online about the Doctor and found a man named Clive, who showed you what he collected about the Doctor. Meanwhile, Mickey was kidnapped and replaced by the plastic dummy. When Clive told you his theory about aliens, you left and decided to get pizza."

"And the future?"

"Here's a hint: under 7's gymnastics will be more useful than you expected. As for right now, there's a question in your head that you want to ask the Doctor."

"What question?" The Doctor asked.

Rose looked at him for a long moment. "If you are an alien, how comes you sound like you're from the North?"

"Lots of planets have a north."

"What's a police public call box?"

"It's a telephone box from the 1950s. It's a disguise."

Rose took a breath. "Okay. And this, this living plastic. What's it got against us?"

"Nothing. It loves you." The Doctor shrugged. "You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. It's food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth, dinner!"

"Which would probably be good for the planet if they didn't want to wipe out the human race first," Ember said.

"Any way of stopping it?" Rose asked.

The Doctor held up a small tube with dark blue liquid inside. "Anti-plastic."

"Anti-plastic?"

"Kinda like antifreeze," Ember piped in again.

"But first we've got to find it." The Doctor took a few steps away, looking around. "How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"

Rose blinked. "Hold on. Hide what?"

"The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

"What's it look like?"

"Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London. A huge circular metal structure like a dish, like a wheel. Radial. Close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible."

Ember moved to Rose's side, looking past the Doctor. "One massive wheel in London. Wonder where we'd find one of those?"

Rose had spotted it as well: the London Eye, standing tall and proud on the south bank of the river.

"What?" The Doctor asked, looking behind him but missing the obvious. "What?"

Rose and Ember pointed as the brunette spoke. "As an old friend is going to say: penny in the air."

The Doctor looked again, but still missed it. "What? What is it? What?"

"Oh, for the love of..." Ember moved to his side and turned him around, pointing to the famous landmark. "Really big wheel, by any chance?"

Now the Doctor saw it. "Oh. Fantastic!"

"And the penny drops," Ember laughed.

"Oh, hush, you!" The Doctor took her and Rose by the hand and ran, crossing the Westminster Bridge to reach the other side of the river. "Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables-"

"The breast implants." Rose joked.

"I can see the headlines of gossip magazines now," Ember said. "'My boob job almost killed me!'"

The Doctor gave a small laugh at that. "Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath."

Ember walked over to a parapet and looked over, seeing a large manhole hatch at the bottom of the steps. "Best way to hide? In plain sight."

The Doctor and Rose followed her down the steps to the manhole, which the Doctor opened. Instantly, they were bathed in red light, but they ignored it as they climbed a short ladder down. The area at the bottom had brick walls and chains hanging here and there, and there was a door to the far end. The Doctor led the way as they went through the door and down another set of steps before they reached a large chamber with multiple level, chains and machinery. Far below was what looked like a massive vat of molten lava that churned and gurgled.

"The Nestene Consciousness." The Doctor said, keeping his voice low. "That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature."

"Well, then, tip in your anti-plastic and let's go!" Rose said.

Ember shook her head. "Then we wouldn't be any better than them."

"I'm not here to kill it." The Doctor agreed. "I've got to give it a chance." He moved to another set of steps that led down to a catwalk overlooking the vat and spoke clearly. "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation."

The molten goo flexed, making a gurgling sound.

"Thank you. If I might have permission to approach?"

"Is he really talking to living plastic?" Rose asked Ember.

The brunette nodded. "He speaks thousands of languages. Apparently one of them is plastic." She caught movement on one of the lower levels. "Oh, and look who else is here."

Rose followed her gaze, only to gasp when she recognised the person huddled against the wall. Oh, God!" She ran over to her boyfriend. "Mickey, it's me! It's okay. It's all right..."

"That thing down there, the liquid." Mickey stammered, terrified. "Rose, it can talk!"

"You're stinking. Doctor, they kept him alive, just like Ember said!"

The Doctor gave a half shrug as he walked to their level and then to the next set of steps. Ember followed, choosing to stay by the humans. "Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy."

"You knew that and you never said?"

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" He moved down to next level, closer to the edge of the vat. "Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilisation by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?"

The molten plastic shifted, forming what might be eyes and a mouth as it gurgled.

The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, don't give me that. It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights." Another gurgle tried to cut him off. "I am talking! This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf. Please, just go."

Rose saw them before he did; two shop dummies coming up behind the Time Lord. "Doctor!"

It was too late, though. The dummies restrained the Doctor, one of them holding him from behind while the other reached into his pocket and pulled out the tube of blue liquid. The Nestene Consciousness made a sound that resembled a growl.

"That was just insurance. I wasn't going to use it!" The Doctor said. "I was not attacking you! I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy, I swear, I'm not!" Another gurgling growl. "What do you mean?" A door far above them opened, revealing the Tardis. "No. Oh, no. Honestly, no. Yes, that's my ship... That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!"

"What's it doing?!" Rose asked as the place began to shake.

"It's the Tardis! The Nestene's identified its superior technology. It's terrified. It's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose! Just leg it now!"

Ember moved to do something, but her head suddenly throbbed, making her hold it as a vision came...

_Rose swung across the room using the chain she'd cut loose, and kicked the nearest dummy into the vat. But there wasn't enough momentum for her to swing back, leaving her trapped, hanging above the angry Nestene Consciousness..._

Ember was brought out of the vision not only by the violent shaking of the room, but of the menacing voice that filled the air.

**_"Time Lord!"_**

The brunette looked up at where the humans were huddled against the Tardis, just in time to see Rose stand and go to the wall where a chain was being held back by a rope.

"Just leave him!" Mickey was yelling to her. "There's nothing you can do!"

"I've got no A Levels, no job, no future." Rose said, picking up a nearby fire axe. "But I tell you what I have got. Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastic team. I've got the bronze!"

With an effort, she cut the rope holding the chain and grabbed it, doing a run up so she could swing out over the side of the catwalk. Her momentum allowed her to kick the dummies into the vat below, which included the vial of antiplastic that one of them was holding. The Nestene Consciousness screamed in pain as it began to turn blue.

But then Rose slowed to a stop, too far away to jump and not enough momentum to move. She was hanging right above the screaming Nestene with nowhere to go.

"No!" Ember cried, putting her hand out in a vain attempt to save her friend.

Only it wasn't in vain. Something clicked in her mind. And out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind pushed Rose to swing back the way she'd come so that the Doctor could grab her and pull her to the safety of the catwalk.

"Now we're in trouble." He said, taking Rose's hand as he ran up the steps towards the Tardis.

Ember stumbled, feeling her head hurt from her latest discovery. She then jumped when the Doctor was suddenly at her side and helping her up. Together, they ran to the Tardis, where Rose and Mickey were waiting, and quickly got in the blue box. The brunette ignored the humans as she moved to sit on the jumpseat and rub her temple while the Doctor got them safely away.

When the Tardis stopped shaking, the Doctor had barely got out the words "We're safe now" before Mickey was bolting out of the doors. Rose followed at a more sedate pace, getting her phone out to check on her mother, while the Doctor and Ember waited at the doors, the former in the doorway itself and the latter leaning against the corner.

Rose hung up her phone and moved over to where Mickey was hiding behind a pallet. "A fat lot of good you were."

"Nestene Consciousness? Easy." The Doctor snapped his fingers.

Now Rose turned to look at the Time Lords as Mickey whimpered. "You were useless in there. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me."

"Well, Ember was there too. But... Yes, I would. Thank you. Right then, we'll be off..." the Doctor hesitated when Ember gently elbowed him in the side. "Unless, uh... I don't know... you could come with us. This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe free of charge."

"Don't!" Mickey yelped. "They're alien. He's a _thing_!"

"And you are rude," Ember said, her temper flaring just a bit from the jibe. "To us, _you're_ the aliens but we're not calling you a thing, are we?"

"He's not invited." The Doctor added, meeting Rose's gaze again. "What do you think? You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go... anywhere."

"...Is it always this dangerous?" Rose asked.

"Yeah."

"But that's just the bits in between," Ember piped in. "And it's worth it to see all that's out there, trust me."

Rose smiled, but shook her head as Mickey clutched her around the waist in fright. "Yeah, I can't. I've... got to go and find my mum and someone's got to look after this stupid lump," she pat Mickey on the shoulder, "so..."

The Doctor nodded. "Okay. See you around." He stepped into the Tardis, waiting for Ember to follow and close the door before he set them off. "I thought she was going to say yes."

"And she will." Ember replied with a smirk. "Didn't you forget something?"

"Like what?"

"What does Tardis stand for, and what did you tell Rose it could do?"

The Doctor paused, thinking it over, and then he groaned and slapped his forehead. "Time, of course!"

Ember laughed, only for it to get cut off by a burning sensation. "Uh-oh. Looks like I'm off again. Start her off gently, okay?"

The Doctor nodded just before she vanished. He then landed the Tardis and ran back to the door, opening it and sticking his head out to look at Rose.

"By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?"

* * *

And there we have it! Rose's first meeting with the Doctor and Ember, and Ember seems to now be able to use the wind element... or can she? Find out soon! Hope you enjoyed it!

Just to add while I'm here, that since this whole thing is going to be about 4 'seasons' long, I've been trying to keep an even ratio of each version of the Doctor. But as you well know, the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccelston) only had the one season. Therefore, I've had the split up those episodes into about three per season. But here's a tiny spoiler for you - those adventures won't be the only time's we'll see him.

Now, some of you are also probably wondering just how far into the Doctor's future Ember goes. You might have an idea by now, but there is a reason that it stops where it does. I can't tell you much more about it without spoiling it. As for after... well, I might continue it as a new saga to continue through. It's been tempting since I decided to catch up with the latest episodes. What do you think?

Next Time: Ember faces robots that don't know any better, but does she have a reason to be jealous of someone who might have eyes for the Doctor? Stay tuned!


	22. Chapter 22: The Girl In The Fireplace

And here's another last minute change! Decided to throw this episode in literally just as I finished the last chapter. Because of that, I ended up delaying the post again. I'm sorry.

The next three are planned, but... I might throw in another extra chapter or two after that before I finish the saga.

Anyways, let's get to it!

Disclaimer (since I haven't put it in in a while): I don't own Doctor Who or its original characters. I can only take credit for Ember, her actions and how it effects the story.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Two: The Girl in The Fireplace

* * *

The next place Ember ended up was what looked like a spaceship, judging from the vibrations beneath her feet and the fact that the elements felt less in effect; something she'd noticed from previous adventures that involved being in space or not on a natural planet. The brunette looked around, noticing pieces of equipment or tools were scattered around, like someone was in the middle of repair work.

Then she realised she could smell something odd. It was like something... burning, but it wasn't fire...

She was broken from the thought when there was a low hum and the lights came on, followed not long after by a clang, like someone had dropped something, coming from the end of the corridor she was in, and then voices. Following the sounds, Ember soon reached what might have been the engine room, but it was a mess. She quickly noticed that she was no longer alone, and they weren't strangers.

"Where'd all the crew go?" That was Rose. Ember peeked around the corner to spot the Tardis and Mickey just to the side.

"Good question." The voice of the Tenth Doctor was a welcome one. "No life readings on-wait, there's one. And it's close."

"I'm assuming that would be me." Ember said, making the Doctor, Rose and Mickey jump slightly as they turned to face her.

"You scared us half to death!" Rose laughed as the brunette approached. "How long have you been here?"

Ember shrugged. "Not for long. I just came from our first adventure together. Attack of the Killer Dummies, and a plastic Mickey."

The Doctor grinned. "I thought I recognised those shorts."

That made the brunette pause, a light blush crossing her face as she self-consciously tugged the edge of her shorts down, though it didn't make a difference. The shorts reached mid-thigh and she was wearing leggings, so she had no reason to be embarrassed, but that comment and the way he was glancing at her legs...

The Doctor, suddenly realising that he was in fact staring, turned away while clearing his throat, looking at the screens on the console in front of him. "Anyway, other than us, there's no one else in this ship."

"Well, we're in deep space." Rose said, a slight smirk on her face from what she'd seen, but she was thankfully letting it go. "They didn't just nip out for a quick fag."

"No, I've checked all the smoking pods." The Doctor suddenly sniffed. "Can you smell that?"

"Yeah, someone's cooking."

"Sunday roast, definitely." Mickey added.

"You're bang on," Ember suddenly felt sick. Now she knew where they were, and what exactly was causing that smell. Well, Sunday roast was now officially on that list of meals she won't eat now. With the way this was going, she was gonna end up a vegan for sure.

The Doctor messed with the console a bit more before he did something that opened a door on the far side of the room. The four of them curiously approached the new room and stepped in, finding an empty room with one odd feature: one wall was panelled like one would expect in a normal room, and had an ornate fireplace. There was a ormolu clock on the mantelpiece above the fixture and a fire burning in the hearth.

"Well, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship." The Doctor said, moving to examine the fixture. "Eighteenth century. French. Nice mantle. Not a hologram. It's not even a reproduction. This actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double sided. There's another room through there."

Rose looked out of the window that was next to the panel in the same wall, only to see no room. "There can't be. That's the outer hull of the ship. Look."

The Doctor was about to comment when Ember suddenly said "Hello", making him look to find her sat cross-legged in front of the fire and looking into the hearth. He crouched beside her to look for himself, and found a little girl sitting in the room beyond the fireplace. She was kneeling by the fire, puzzled but surprisingly not afraid of the sudden appearance of two people in her fireplace. "Oh. Hello."

"Hello." The girl replied.

"What's your name?" The Doctor asked, ignoring Mickey and Rose as they peek in from the sides.

"Reinette."

"Reinette, that's a lovely name. Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?"

"In my bedroom."

The Doctor smirked at the simple reply. "And where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?"

"Paris, of course." The little girl said like they should have known.

"Paris, right!"

"Monsieur, Mademoiselle, what are you doing in my fireplace?"

Ember blinked. "Fires are my specialty, Reinette. I make sure they stay in the fireplace and keep you warm and safe."

"Yeah, it's just a routine fire check." The Doctor added. "Can you tell me what year it is?"

"Of course I can." Reinette said proudly. "Seventeen hundred and twenty seven."

"Right, lovely. One of my favourites. August is rubbish though. Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night, night."

"Goodnight Monsieur, Mademoiselle."

The Doctor stood, gently guiding Ember up with him, as Mickey spoke. "You said this was the fifty first century."

"I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe. I think we just found the hole." The Doctor looked thoughtful. "Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink."

"What's that?"

"No idea. Just made it up."

Ember laughed. "Is it that bad to say 'magic door'? You've got a magic box as far as some people are concerned."

Rose giggled as well. "And on the other side of the 'magic door' is France in 1727?"

"Well, she was speaking French." The Doctor shrugged as he took off his trench coat and tossed it aside before he moved to the side of the fireplace, Ember staying close to him. "Right period French, too."

Now Mickey looked puzzled. "She was speaking English, I heard her."

"That's the Tardis. Translates for you." Rose explained. "Ember told me its kinda like have a pocket translator in your head."

"Even French?"

"Yeah."

"Gotcha!" The Doctor suddenly cheered, finding a switch. The whole fireplace lurched and began to spin on the spot, Ember only having a moment to get on the same side as the Time Lord as it turned exactly 180 degrees. When it stilled, they found themselves in what looked like a lavish bedroom on Earth, obviously belonging to a child as evidenced by the doll house, rocking horse and child-sized furniture. The Doctor glanced out of the window to see snow falling, and the room was dark.

On the bed at the far end of the room, there was a small form under the blankets that suddenly sat up to reveal the little girl they'd just spoken to. She gasped as she saw the silhouettes of two people in her bedroom.

"It's okay. Don't scream. It's me. It's the Fireplace Man. Look." The Doctor quickly used his Sonic to light a nearby candelabra to illuminate the room. "And Firegirl. We were talking just a moment ago. We were in your fireplace."

Reinette had relaxed once she recognised them, but then she frowned in puzzlement. "Monsieur, that was weeks ago. That was months."

"Really? Oh." The Doctor turned back to the fireplace to examine it. "Must be a loose connection. Need to get a man in."

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

The Doctor turned to answer - his mind already coming up with some half-truth - when he saw Ember. What set him on edge was the way she was staring at something, and when he followed her gaze, he was almost face to face with the clock that was on the mantle over the fireplace; a broken clock that was not ticking. "Okay, that's scary..."

Reinette tilted her head. "You're scared of a broken clock?"

"Just a bit scared, yeah. Just a little tiny bit. Because, you see, if this clock's broken, and it's the only clock in the room..."

"What's ticking?" Ember finished, turning to look around the rest of the room. Though she already knew what it was and where.

The Doctor nodded as he listened. "Because, you see, that's not a clock. You can tell by the resonance. Too big. Six feet, I'd say. The size of a man."

Now Reinette was beginning to look scared. "What is it?"

"Now, let's think. If you were a thing that ticked and you were hiding in someone's bedroom, first thing you do, break the clock. No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two? You might start to wonder if you're really alone." The Doctor traced the ticking sound to the bed, or rather under it. "Stay on the bed. Right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge. Ember?"

The brunette either didn't need him to tell her or she didn't care if it was the opposite: she climbed onto the bed and pulled the young girl close. "Not getting past me."

The Doctor took out his Sonic again, slowly moving to kneel so he could look under the bed. He began to scan the area with the Sonic, but then something lunged out and knocked his hand away, making him jump back.

Reinette jumped and buried her face into Ember's stomach in fright. The brunette didn't stop her.

The Doctor, having looked back under the bed and saw feet on the other side, looked over at the other side of the bed, where there was a person stood. It wore clothes that suited a French aristocrat and a porcelain mask that might have looked good in drama, though it strangely suited the clothing it wore to match the era. "Reinette... Don't look round."

Ember shifted enough to look over her shoulder, glaring at the new arrival. She knew that the creature wouldn't hurt the child, but that didn't mean it had a right to scare her.

"You, stay exactly where you are." The Doctor told the newcomer as he stood. Then he looked thoughtful. "Hold still, let me look..." he knelt on the bed and gently held Reinette's head, staring deep into her eyes, and frowned at what he felt. "You've been scanning her brain! What, you've crossed two galaxies and thousands of years just to scan a child's brain? What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?"

"I don't understand. It wants me?" Reinette asked before turning to look at the quiet creature. She strangely didn't seem surprised, which gave the Time Lords the idea that she'd seen them before. "You want me?"

The newcomer tilted its head with a loud click before speaking in a robotic, male voice that was definitely not human. _"Not yet. You are incomplete."_

"Incomplete? What's that mean, incomplete?" The Doctor asked, but the robot didn't reply, so he stood and pointed his Sonic at it. "You can answer her, you can answer me. What do you mean, incomplete?"

At the demand, the robot stiffly walked around the bed and held out its arm, where a blade suddenly appeared.

"Monsieur, be careful!" Reinette gasped as Ember let her go and stood. "Mademoiselle!"

"Just a nightmare, Reinette, don't worry about it." The Doctor said, evading the jabs and swings that the robot was doing and leading it back towards the fireplace. "Everyone has nightmares. Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?"

Ember got behind the robot, waiting for the right moment when it raised its blade before she pushed the robot firmly in the back, making it stumble forward. The Doctor quickly moved aside as the blade aimed for his head instead hit the mantelpiece, getting stuck in the solid wood.

"What do monsters have nightmares about?" Reinette couldn't help but ask.

The Doctor got onto the side of the fireplace, Ember going to the other side, and hit the switch. "Us!"

The whole fireplace rotated again, bringing the Time Lords and the robot back into the spaceship, where Rose and Mickey were waiting.

"Doctor!" Rose cried.

Ember, being closer, grabbed what looked like a large tank with a tube attached and pointed it at the robot. Cold, white smoke shot out with a whoosh, engulfing the struggling robot, which slowed to a stop with bits of ice forming over it.

"Excellent!" Mickey cheered. "Ice gun!"

"Fire extinguisher." The Doctor corrected as Ember passed the tool to Rose. "Nice shot, Ember."

"Where did that thing come from?" Rose asked.

"Here."

"So why is it dressed like that?" Mickey pointed at the robot.

"Got to look the part of you want to infiltrate." Ember replied.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Field trip to France. Some kind of basic camouflage protocol. Nice needlework, shame about the face." He reached out to remove the mask, only for the wig to come off as well, revealing a head-shaped glass dome with clockwork components inside. He was quick to gush over it as he put his glasses on. "Oh, you are beautiful! No, really, you are. You're gorgeous! Look at that. Space age clockwork, I love it! I've got chills!" He grinned at Ember before looking at the robot again, taking out his Sonic. "Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart, and, by the way, count those, it would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you. But that won't stop me."

The droid moved then, stiffly pressing something on its arm and vanishing in a beam of light.

"Guess it didn't want to be taken apart," Ember muttered.

"Short range teleport." The Doctor said, pocketing the Sonic. "Can't have got far. Could still be on board."

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"Don't go looking for it!"

The blonde saw him go back to the fireplace. "Where're you going?"

"Back in a sec." The Doctor looked at Ember. "You coming?"

Ember made a face. "Don't wanna watch this bit, thanks."

The Doctor looked puzzled, but had already hit the switch so he couldn't ask. Once it had settled, Rose lifted the fire extinguisher, holding it like a gun.

"He said not to look for it." Mickey said, having noticed the move.

"Yeah, he did." Rose agreed, then waited. It took a few seconds for Mickey to catch on and grab the second extinguisher. "Now you're getting it."

Ember shook her head at the pair. "I'm only letting you go because I know you'll be safe. But keep your eyes and ears open, you got it? I'll wait here for the Doctor and we'll catch up."

"You're not coming with us?" Mickey asked.

"... I need a minute alone."

The humans seemed to sense that they were intruding, and quietly left to explore. Ember waited until they were gone and turned to go out of the room and into one of the adjacent corridors. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for; a white horse with bridle and saddle attached.

"Hey there," the brunette called gently. To her relief, the horse showed no fear or hostility, its hooves loud on the metal floor as it walked up to her and let her pet its nose. "Bet you're wondering what this place is."

Her thoughts drifted to the Doctor, knowing that right about now he was being snogged by Madame De Pompadour. To her surprise, the thought made an uncomfortable feeling ball up in her stomach; one she recognised as the beginnings of jealousy.

The question was: why? She'd seen this episode, so she knew it was coming. Hell, she was one of those fans who'd watched the scene and gone 'aww' or 'ooooh' at it. She'd had no problem with it then, so why was she bothered by it now?

Unless... it was because it _wasn't_ a tv show anymore. These weren't actors playing a part or following a script. This was the real Madame De Pompadour, and... it was the real Doctor.

A very real Doctor that Ember was having increasing feelings for, even though she knew it couldn't lead to anything but heartbreak. He loved Rose, even if he wasn't ready or willing to admit it, and in his future he'd love and even marry River. All Ember was doing was setting herself up for pain by loving a man who wouldn't return her feelings.

_"No,"_ She thought to herself. _"I won't deny that I feel this way, but that's it. He'll never know, and that's fine."_

Even if it was going to hurt to see him around other women, she would bear it. He was worth it.

"Ember! Rose! Mickey!" The sudden shout made her jump, having been distracted by her thoughts that she'd missed the return of the very man that she was thinking about. The voice got louder as the owner approached. "Every time. Every time, it's rule one. Don't wander off. I tell them, I do! Rule one! There could be anything on this ship!"

The Doctor turned the corner into the corridor, only to stop as soon as he saw the horse. Ember smirked. "Like a horse. By the way, Doctor, that's not quite right. Rule One; the Doctor lies."

"Well, there are exceptions to the rule." The Doctor waved it off as he moved closer, only to blink at the brunette. "Why are you crying?"

Ember blinked, raising a hand to her face. He was right; her cheeks were damp with tears. "Oh, I didn't realise... sorry..."

The Doctor dug into his pocket and handed her a handkerchief to help clean herself up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ember said a little too quickly. She tried not to meet his gaze, but he simply waited, so she sighed. "Spoilers. But it's really nothing to worry about."

The Doctor moved closer, gently lifting her chin and making her look at him. "Really?"

Ember nodded. "Yeah." She expected him to push for more information or drop it altogether, but was surprised when he just kept looking at her, almost like he was trying to commit every detail into his brain. She found herself blushing despite her attempts to stop it when she noticed that his hand was still under her chin, though she had to be imagining the way his thumb was gently tracing her jaw...

The moment was suddenly broken by the horse, who neighed and nudged between them with its head. Ember was torn between feeling glad for the interruption and mentally cursing the timing.

The Doctor shot the horse a look as he saw Ember step back. He'd been so close, had almost gotten the brunette to lower those barriers she was known for putting up when she was anxious or upset, especially in the early days. He had a feeling he knew what she'd been thinking about, but the horse had to go and blow it for him. He was gonna have a word with it later.

Ember shook her head to get it back on track. She'd just told herself that she wasn't going to let her feelings get the better of her, and there she was, acting like a lovesick teenager! She needed to focus. "Um, right... we'd better, uh... go look for the others..."

Nodding, the Doctor decided to let it go for now. He'd noticed a small detail that told him exactly what point she was at right now, and he didn't want to risk setting things in motion too early. "Why'd you let them go off alone?"

"Because they'll be fine. The droids are busy, and they don't cross paths yet. Besides, someone needed to wait here for you."

The Doctor shrugged, knowing that Ember wouldn't have let the humans go alone if she knew there was danger. "And the horse?"

"He looks like an Arthur, don't you think?" Ember said, smiling when the horse nudged her with its nose. "Okay, come on. Let's go find our humans, shall we?"

The two of them and their equine friend walked around for a short while, though the Doctor didn't seem as fond of their third wheel as he'd been in the show. He walked slightly ahead as a result, letting Ember stay near the horse as it followed. Along the way, they found several mirrors and tapestries that were actually doorways to France, and all of them seemed to be in the same area with one thing in common: Reinette.

"Rose!" The Doctor called, only to turn when the horse neighed. "Will you stop following me? I'm not your mother." The horse neighed again, making him frown as it tried to nip his sleeve. "Oi, don't start."

Ember tilted her head. "What did he say?"

The Doctor looked at her, contemplating, before he replied. "He likes you. Says you smell nice."

"Oh?" Ember smiled, patting the horse on the snout again. "Can you tell us your name, boy?"

The horse made another sound, and the Doctor rolled his eyes with a smirk. "He says it doesn't matter. He likes the name you gave him better."

"Sometimes I think you're just making it up."

"Oi!"

Ember smiled again, glad that things hadn't gotten awkward after what had happened earlier. She could handle this. "Then again, some of the things you translate are too bizarre for you to make up."

The Doctor couldn't help a light laugh at that, but it was at that moment that he saw something out of the ordinary: wooden doors that were painted white. "So this is where you came from, eh, horsey?"

He pushed open the doors, allowing Ember to step out after him into what looked like a grand garden. The few people dotted around were dressed in French styles; the men in frilled coats and the ladies in wide dresses with parasols.

Ember spotted someone amoung the people and pat the Doctor on the arm to get his attention, making him turn to see Reinette, now an adult, talking a laughing with a dark skinned woman. They were too far away to hear exactly what was being said, but they could tell that the French woman was quite content. She did turn to look in their direction twice, prompting them the duck behind a large stone urn to avoid being seen. Soon enough, the women walked away.

Ember jumped as a man in black riding gear suddenly spoke from behind them. "Have you seen a horse?"

The Doctor turned to look at the man. "Well, uh..."

"Damn that animal," The man grumbled, pointing a whipping stick. "I'll whip it within an inch of its life as soon as I find it!"

"Oh, I wish you hadn't said that."

Ember smiled. "I think I saw a white horse being led off the grounds, sir."

The man grinned, nodding his thanks as he went on his way. The Doctor was making a face that could have been a pout as he turned to face the brunette. "Did he really have to say that?"

"Well, you could always... bring him back later?" Ember suggested.

The Doctor shrugged as he led them back through the doors they'd come through and back into the ship, where the horse had apparently decided to wait. He walked right up to the equine and spoke. "Right. Rule One: don't wander off." The horse neighed at him. "Rule Two; don't stare at Ember. Yes, I know, she's pretty, but it's rude to stare."

That made the brunette blink, taken aback. "Don't stare at me?"

"I've caught him staring."

Ember shook her head, deciding that it was better not to ask, and followed the Doctor through the corridors of the ship. Then the rest of what he'd said registered. "Pretty?"

The Doctor winced slightly, raising a hand to rub his ear in the way he did when he was caught out. "His words."

Somehow, she didn't quite believe that, but she decided not to get into it, though her face had a tinge of a blush across her cheeks that made the Doctor grin behind her back as they walked.

It wasn't long before they found Rose and Mickey, who were stood in front of a pair of floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out into a room. It turned out to be see-through on their side with a mirror on the other, as the man sprucing himself up on the other side seemed oblivious to the fact that people were watching him.

"Blimey, look at this guy." Mickey was saying, gesturing at the man. "Who does he think he is?"

"The King of France." The Doctor said as he and Ember reached the pair.

Rose glanced back. "Oh, here's trouble. What you been up to?"

"Oh, this and that. Became the imaginary friend of a future French aristocrat, picked a fight with a clockwork man." The horse, who had stopped by the door, neighed. "Oh, and we met a horse."

"What's a horse doing on a spaceship?" Mickey asked, taken aback by the animal.

"Mickey, what's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective." The Doctor looked at the mirror/window. "See these? They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history." At that moment, Reinette entered the room on the other side of the window and curtsied to the king. "Hers. Time windows deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman. A spaceship from the fifty first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?"

Rose looked at the woman. "Who is she?"

"Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette."

"Even the imaginary ones," Ember added.

The Doctor grinned at her before he resumed the explanation. "One of the most accomplished women who ever lived."

"So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?" Rose asked.

"No, he's already got a Queen. She's got plans of being his mistress."

"Oh, I get it." Rose grinned at Mickey, knowing he'd get the joke. "Camilla."

"I think this is the night they met." The Doctor mused as the king and his servants left the room and Reinette went to the mirror/window to check her appearance. "The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time at flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace. Even her own title. Madame de Pompadour."

"The Queen must have loved her."

"Oh, she did. They get on very well."

Mickey blinked. "The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?"

"France. It's a different planet."

"Doctor, the clock," Ember said, drawing their attention to the only clock in the room, which was broken. She narrowed her eyes at the figure that was standing in the corner of the room with their back turned, just as Reinette turned and saw the same thing. She spoke, though it wasn't heard through the glass, and the figure turned to reveal another droid, though this one looked more feminine than the one before.

The Doctor acted quickly, grabbing the fire extinguisher that Mickey was holding before he pushed on the window, making it rotate and allow them to step through. "Hello, Reinette. Hasn't time flown?"

"Fireplace man!" Reinette gasped. She then saw Ember and her eyes widened. "Firegirl!"

Ember held her hand out, intending to use her newly harnessed power over wind to push the droid back a bit as it was too close, but she only got a throb to her head and no other result, making her cringe and step back.

The Doctor quickly sprayed the droid with the fire extinguisher before tossing it back to Mickey.

"What's it doing?" The young man asked as the droid began to twitch with a whirring sound.

"Switching back on. Melting the ice." The Doctor replied.

"And then what?"

"Then it kills everyone in the room."

Ember grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him back as the droid lifted an arm and unsheathed a blade. "And that's why we step back!"

"But focuses the mind, doesn't it?" The Doctor shot her a cheeky wink before he faced the droid. "Who are you? Identify yourself." When he got no answer, he looked at Reinette. "Order it to answer me."

Reinette looked puzzled. "Why should it listen to me?"

"I don't know. It did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it."

"... Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you."

The droid lowered its weapon and spoke. _"I am repair droid seven."_

"What happened to the ship, then? There was a lot of damage."

_"Ion storm. Eighty two percent systems failure."_

"That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?"

_"We did not have the parts."_

Mickey chuckled. "Always comes down to that, doesn't it? The parts."

"What's happened to the crew?" The Doctor asked. "Where are they?"

_"We did not have the parts."_

"There should have been over fifty people on your ship. Where did they go?"

_"We did not have the parts."_

"Fifty people don't just disappear!"

Ember put her hand on his arm. "Doctor. They didn't have the _parts_. They had to find new ones."

Now the Doctor got it, realisation dawning on his face. "Oh. You didn't have the parts, so you used the crew."

"The crew?" Mickey repeated.

Rose had paled. "We found a camera with an eye in it, and there was a heart... wired in to machinery."

The Doctor frowned. "It was just doing what it was programmed to. Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it could find. No one told it the crew weren't on the menu. What did you say the flight deck smelt of?"

"Someone cooking... and Ember said that was bang on..."

"Flesh plus heat. Barbeque." The Doctor mused, sending an apologetic look toward Ember, who now had a nauseated expression on her face, before he looked at the droid. "But what are you doing here? You've opened up time windows. That takes colossal energy. Why come here? You could have gone to your repair yard. Instead you come to eighteenth century France? Why?"

_"One more part is required."_ The droid turned its head with a loud click to look at Reinette.

The Doctor quickly caught on. "Then why haven't you taken it?"

_"She is incomplete."_

"What, so, that's the plan, then. Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she's 'done' yet?"

Rose couldn't hold back the question any more. "Why her? You've got all of history to choose from. Why specifically her?"

_"We are the same."_

Reinette frowned, now insulted. "We are not the same. We are in no sense the same."

_"We are the same."_

"Get out of here. Get out of here this instant!"

"Reinette, no!" The Doctor tried to stop her, but was too late. The droid vanished in a beam of light. "It's back on the ship. Rose, take Mickey and Arthur. Get after it. Follow it. Don't approach it, just watch what it does."

Rose blinked. "Arthur?"

"Good name for a horse."

"No, you're not keeping the horse!"

"I let you keep Mickey. Now go! Go! Go!" The Doctor urged them through the mirror back onto the ship and closed it behind them. "Ember, I need you to be look out, let us know if we get company."

"On it!" Ember nodded, running to the door.

The Doctor then moved to stand in front of Reinette. "Reinette, you're going to have to trust me. I need to find out what they're looking for. There's only one way I can do that. It won't hurt a bit."

Reinette was puzzled as the Doctor put his fingers on her temples and closed his eyes, but then she flinched as she felt it. "Fireplace man... you are inside my mind."

"Oh dear, Reinette. You've had some cowboys in here..."

Ember glanced back at them before she moved a little further out of the room to give them some privacy while still being nearby in case she was called.

"You are in my memories." Reinette breathed, her eyes closed. "You walk among them."

"If there's anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door and close it. I won't look. Oh, actually there's a door just there..." The Doctor didn't see her impish grin. "You might want to cl-Oh, actually, several..."

"To walk among the memories of another living soul. Do you ever get used to this?"

"I don't make a habit of it."

"How can you resist?"

"What age are you?" The Doctor asked.

"So impertinent a question so early in the conversation. How promising."

"No, not my question, theirs. You're twenty three and for some reason, that means you're not old enough." Reinette flinched, and he got the wrong idea. "Sorry, you might find old memories reawakening. Side effect."

"Oh, such a lonely childhood..."

"It'll pass. Stay with me."

"Oh, Doctor. So lonely. So very, very alone..."

"What do you mean, alone? You've never been alone in your life-" The Doctor suddenly looked at her as what she'd said registered. "When did you start calling me Doctor?"

"Such a lonely little boy. Lonely then and lonelier now. How can you bear it?" Reinette murmured, then her brows raised in realisation. "Oh... because of her... she soothes the pain..."

The Doctor stepped back, breaking the connection. "How did you do that?"

Reinette looked at him calmly. "A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction." She stepped closer. "Oh, Doctor. My dear Doctor... Dance with me."

"I can't."

"Dance with me."

"This is the night you dance with the King."

"Then first, I shall make him jealous." Reinette said with a smirk, but then looked thoughtful. "On the other hand... I wouldn't want to make her jealous. Perhaps you should dance with her instead."

"I can't." The Doctor insisted, though there was a tiny bit of hesitation that could have easily been missed had it not been Madam De Pompadour watching.

"Doctor... Doctor who? It's more than just a secret, isn't it? But then again, so is Ember..."

That made the Doctor tense. "What did you see?"

"That there comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance." Reinette took him by the hand and led him out of the room, easily spotting Ember keeping a lookout and taking her hand as well, much to her surprise. "Ah, Ember, we need to get you ready."

The brunette blinked. "Huh?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Apparently we've been invited to the ball."

* * *

"I cannot believe I'm doing this," Ember muttered to herself.

She'd known that Reinette was going to invite the Doctor to the ball, but hadn't even thought that she'd be included in the deal. And yet here she was, sat in front of a vanity, wearing a dress that was fitted with a corset that made breathing deeply impossible. Reinette was stood behind her, manipulating her short hair into a braid.

Reinette smiled at her through the mirror. "You probably would feel more comfortable if you were not still wearing those 'shorts'."

Ember shook her head minutely so that she wouldn't disrupt the work being done to her hair. "Actually, I'd feel better if this dress didn't have a corset. How the heck do you breathe in this thing? It feels like a form of punishment."

"It does admittedly take some getting used to," Reinette relented. "But it does wonders for the posture, I'm told."

"If that means 'you can never move', then yeah, it's perfect. Never been a fan of dresses." Ember raised a brow. "So... why am I in a dress?"

"I invited you and the Doctor to the ball. I felt that a change of wardrobe was in order for you." Reinette seemed satisfied with her work. "There. Now, we just add some makeup, and then you are ready for your dance."

That made Ember turn to look at her, though she had to physically turn her whole body to achieve it. "My dance?"

"Your dance with the Doctor."

"My...? But I thought you wanted to dance with him?"

Reinette moved to sit on the stool, which was thankfully wide enough to allow them both to sit, and begin to look through the various types of makeup on the vanity. "And I shall, but first... I'm afraid I have a confession, Ember. When I last encountered him, without your presence, I may have behaved... rather unjustly."

"You mean when you kissed him." Ember said. It wasn't a question, but the blonde woman could feel the tension in her voice.

"Yes. Had I known then what I do now, I would not have been so bold. If it is of any consolation, he was quick to end it."

Ember tilted her head as Reinette guided a small powder puff with foundation on it to her face. "You say that like I should be angry with you. He's not my boyfriend. Uh, partner, consort, lover, whatever you call it here. He can kiss who he wishes."

Reinette looked at her carefully as she lowered the puff. "But it is not me he wishes to kiss. What I saw in his mind... your circumstances are complicated."

"Well, if you think it's weird in his head, you should try mine." Ember said, then looked puzzled. "When you said if you knew then what you know now, what did you mean?"

"I did not realise at the time that there was another who desired him." Reinette said. "I hadn't realised it when I saw you for the first time, as I was only a child, but I see it now. You have deep feelings for him."

Ember looked away, a light blush crossing her cheeks. "Well... okay, yes. I'm feeling... things towards him, but believe me, it's better for him and me if I keep that to myself."

Reinette tilted her head. "Is that truly the case, or is it simply your fears speaking for you?"

The brunette didn't have an answer to that.

* * *

The Doctor looked around warily. He was standing in the entrance to the grand ballroom, where he'd been placed by Reinette and asked to wait while she quickly left, pulling a confused Ember with her.

"You may be acceptable in that," Reinette had said, casting a look at the Doctor's suit before looking at Ember. "But I'm afraid you must be seen to."

Now he could only wait until the ladies returned from whatever they were doing. He just had to hope that it wouldn't take too long.

"Our apologies. I thank you for your patience."

The Doctor turned at the sound of Reinette's voice, but whatever he was about to say suddenly vanished from his mouth as soon as he laid eyes on the person standing just behind the French aristocrat.

Ember was standing there, wearing a dress with wide skirts that was in various shades of blue. Her hands had matching gloves on them, and her hair was styled in a French twist similar to Reinette's own. She had a light dusting of makeup on that hid the scar on her face without making it obvious.

"Um... hi..." the brunette murmured. The red on her face was a blush as well as the makeup that brought out her silver eyes.

The Doctor had to swallow what felt like a brick in his throat so he could get words out, though they didn't come out as confidently as he'd hoped. "Wow... you look... wow..."

Ember couldn't help but fiddle with her gloves as she glanced at Reinette, to find the woman smiling. She could still feel the Doctor's eyes watching her. "Um..."

Reinette nodded to herself as she moved to the Doctor's side. "She does look exquisite, doesn't she, Doctor?"

"Uh, yes!" The Doctor said, nodding enthusiastically before he took a breath to calm himself and caught Ember's eye so she could see how sincere he was. "You look great."

"Good. Now, I believe we have a ball to attend." Reinette took the Doctor by the arm and led him to Ember's side, getting her to take his other arm before they proceeded into the ballroom.

* * *

Ember sighed as she sat on the sidelines of the grand hall, watching everyone dancing and having a good time. She was enjoying it as well, to be fair, but she felt somewhat out of place since she had no intention of dancing.

"My lady?"

The brunette glanced up, to see a young man dressed in the traditional aristocrat clothing and wearing a fancy wig. He was offering his arm to her, evidently asking if she wanted to dance. "Um, sorry, but no, thank you."

To his credit, the man took the rejection with grace, nodding politely and moving on. Ember was glad that he - and the two others who'd asked - had the manners not to push their luck.

Meanwhile, the Doctor found himself dancing with Reinette as she'd wanted, but he kept looking over at Ember at every opportunity he could. Reinette found herself smiling at him.

"Had I not known the reason for your wandering eye, I would feel a bit insulted." She said.

The Doctor looked at her in surprise. "Oh! Sorry, I, uh..."

"I jest, Doctor," Reinette spared him the embarrassment. "I know perfectly well why you keep looking."

"How much did you see?" The Doctor couldn't help but ask. "In my mind. What have you seen?"

"Your past, for the most part. But I also understand that some of that is her future."

The Doctor looked away, for once not trying to find Ember. "Yeah. It's complicated."

Reinette eyed him thoughtfully. "Then tell me this; how does that future come about?"

"What do you mean?"

"If the future is what you have already encountered, then surely something must begin in the past to lead to it." Reinette tilted her head at the puzzled frown she received. "Perhaps it only takes a few words to begin, or perhaps a dance."

The Doctor stilled, which was fairly good timing as the music came to an end. He allowed Reinette to leave his arms and cross the dance floor to greet the king, who was standing with a patient expression, though it did not fool the Doctor, who saw the slight fires of jealousy in his eyes.

The music began again, and the Doctor turned to where Ember was still sitting to the side. He thought about it for only a moment before he shook his head, muttered "to hell with it", and strode over with purpose.

Ember blinked up at him as the Doctor reached her. "I thought she'd have danced for longer."

"This is the night she dances with the king," the Doctor replied, shrugging to himself before he bowed slightly and held out a hand. "May I have this dance, my lady?"

That made the brunette pause, another blush covering her face. "Um... I... can't dance..."

"Have you tried?"

"Well, um... no... not that I know of..."

The Doctor wiggled the fingers of his offered hand. "Then maybe you just need to give it a go?"

Ember hesitated again, but she could see in his eyes that he wasn't going to give up, so she sighed and accepted his hand, letting him pull her to her feet and onto the dance floor. "Sorry in advance if I step on your toes."

"I'm sure you'll be fine." The Doctor guided her to a free space among the other dancers and pulled her close, putting a hand on the left side of her waist while taking her right hand. "Just let me take care of you."

The brunette found herself fighting off the feeling blush she could feel covering her face at the close proximity, hoping that he wouldn't feel just how fast her hearts were beating as she put her free hand on his shoulder.

_'It's just a dance,'_ she thought to herself, trying to psych herself up. _'Nothing wrong with dancing with a guy, who I happen to like. I can do this.'_

To Ember's surprise and relief, she wasn't as bad a dancer as she'd imagined. Yes, she fumbled a fair bit and did in fact step on the Doctor's toes more than once, but no one around them seemed to have noticed or even cared about her lack of finesse. The Doctor patiently guided her through most of it anyway, encouraging her to just flow with the music as he moved. She found herself able to just go with the flow and try not to step on his feet again, though her hearts kept doing that little flutter when their gazes met and he smiled at her.

The Doctor caught Reinette's eye at one point and saw her send him an almost smug smile. He returned it with a grin as he continued to dance with the brunette, who had missed the exchange entirely.

"When we met the second droid, you tried to do something." The Doctor suddenly spoke up, bringing her out of her wandering thoughts to look up at him. "I doubt it was to use fire; you're pretty good at that, so I don't think you'd have a problem with that."

Ember nodded. "When Rose knocked those dummies into the Nestene Consciousness, she got stuck. I managed to get her back to you by using wind for the first time."

The Doctor nodded as he led them into a twirl. "I felt the breeze. Is that what you tried to do earlier?"

"I wanted to push it back, but instead my head hurt."

"I don't know exactly what gives you these powers over elements, but at a guess, I'd say you were trying too hard."

That made Ember look up at him in puzzlement. "Has that happened before?"

The Doctor shrugged. "For the most part, I'd say spoilers, but I have seen you push yourself a bit too far by trying to control an element that you've only recently started being able to control or haven't gotten used to get. Sometimes just because you've been able to use it once doesn't mean you can instantly use it right away. Maybe we can have a session later in the dojo?"

"I guess so."

When the dance ended not long later, Ember was surprised to find that she felt disappointment that it was over so soon. She allowed herself a moment longer before she stepped away from the Doctor and curtsied like she'd seen the other ladies do, thankful that she'd been able to keep her red all stars; the dress hid the fact that she had those shoes and her shorts and leggings underneath.

"Not bad at all," the Doctor said, giving a bow himself. "And you said you couldn't dance."

"Well, I guess it should be 'can't dance well' now," Ember replied. "Um, we really should be going back soon. I only know that it'll be a few hours for Rose and Mickey, not how long we're here for."

The Doctor led her off the dance floor. "Are they in trouble?"

"When we get there, they will be. The droids will have them restrained and ready to chop up, but you get there just in time. And you stop them."

"With what?"

"Some kind of oil that does the opposite of making the gears work. But you also have a plan to make them lower their guard." Ember picked up an empty goblet that was on a nearby table. "Drunk and disorderly?"

The Doctor took a moment to think about the hint, and then he grinned.

* * *

After a slight detour to entertain the guests at the ball (Ember was still laughing at the sight of the aristocrats looking surprised and then awed by the sudden appearance of a banana and something that the Doctor called 'castanets'), the two Time Lords made their way back to the spaceship, grabbing Ember's denim jacket on the way. It didn't take them long to find where Mickey and Rose were being held - coincidently in the same room as the Tardis - and the Doctor hastily pulled his tie up to go around his forehead, put on a pair of sunglasses and then knocked over a pile of metal objects to make a loud noise.

"I could've daaanced all night, I could've danced all niiiight!" He sang loudly, sounding drunk as he and Ember made their way to the entrance of the room where the humans were held, knocking over more things.

Ember could just hear Rose speaking now. "They called him the... They called him the, the..."

At this point, the Doctor pulled Ember close to pretend to be leaning on her as he swept into the room, stumbling about in a dance while singing drunkenly and holding a goblet of what appeared to be wine. "And still have begged for moore! I could've spread my wings and done a thou-Have you met the French? My god, they know how to party!"

Ember took a quick look around as she pretended to hold up the Time Lord. There were several of the droids standing in the room, including one holding a small saw blade near Rose, but none of them seemed about to attack just yet. She had no idea why someone being drunk would make them pause, but she guessed that maybe they just didn't know what to make of the odd behaviour.

Rose fell for the ploy as well, frowning at the Doctor, though she did also notice the change in Ember's wardrobe. "Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm."

"Oh, you sound just like your mother." The Doctor drawled.

"What've you been doing? Where've you been?"

"Well, among other things, I think just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early. Do you know, they've never even seen a banana before." He stepped away from Ember to lean over the bound blonde. "Always take a banana to a party, Rose. Bananas are good!"

Ember looked at the droid that was still holding the blade near Rose. "And look who it is. The monster under the bed himself."

The Doctor glanced back at her before turning to the droid she was looking at, acting like he'd only just noticed it. "Oh ho, ho, ho, ho, brilliant! It's you! You're my favourite, you are. You are the best! Do you know why? Because you're... so thick! You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania." He began to move away only to go back with an afterthought. "And so's your dad!" He then wondered away, going back to Ember's side and throwing an arm around her, which nearly sent her stumbling with the sudden weight. "Ember! My favourite fiery girl! Wanna tell us what they're doing stalking Reinette?"

"Um..." Ember didn't quite understand why he was including her suddenly, but she didn't want to ask in case she blew their cover. "They want her at a specific age."

The Doctor nodded with a chuckle. "Know why? Because this ship is thirty seven years old, and they think that when Reinette is thirty seven, when she's 'complete', then her brain will be compatible." He began to wonder around again, slightly less stumbly than a few moments ago, but that wasn't noticed as he address the droids again. "Cuz that's what you're missing, isn't it, hmm? Command circuit. Your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason, God knows what, only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do."

The droid that had the blade out spoke. _"The brain is compatible."_

"Compatible?" The Doctor repeated as he reached the droid. "If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine."

Then, with a swift move, the Doctor pulled off the mask and wig and poured the contents of the goblet he was holding onto the cogs in the head. While it looked like wine, the gears loudly ground to a halt, and the Doctor put the wig back on with a pat before the droid bowed over.

"Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves, it doesn't." He said to the puzzled humans, suddenly completely sober. The other droids began to advance, but Ember was faster this time since she was on the right side of the console. She pushed a lever down and all the droids bowed over like the first one. The Doctor sent the brunette a nod of thanks as he got out the Sonic to free Rose and Mickey. "Right, you two, that's enough lying about. Time we got the rest of the ship turned off."

"Are those things safe?" Mickey asked as he got to his feet, eyeing the droids warily.

"Yeah. Safe. Safe and thick, way I like them. Okay. All the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down." The Doctor pulled his tie back around his neck and took off the sunglasses, surprising Ember by putting them on her head, and then began to pat himself down in search of something. "Zeus plugs. Where are my Zeus plugs? I had them a minute ago. I was using them as castanets."

Ember shrugged. "You kinda lost them between dances. I tried to find them."

"Why didn't they just open a time window to when she was thirty seven?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shrugged as he abandoned his search and went back to the console. "With the amount of damage to these circuits, they did well to hit the right century. Trial and error after that." He frowned as he hit a problem. "The windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?"

"Failsafe." Was all Ember could get out before there was a dinging sound around them that was almost like a clock chime.

Rose looked around. "What's that?"

"I don't know. Incoming message?" The Doctor suggested.

"From who?"

"Report from the field. One of them must still be out there with Reinette. That's why I can't close the windows. There's an override."

At that moment, the droid the Doctor put the oil in twitched and moved its hand, one finger opening up to expel the oil out onto the Doctor's shoe.

The Doctor huffed mildly. "Well, that was a bit clever." The switch Ember had moved went back to its original setting, allowing the other droids to straighten up again. "Right. Many things about this are not good." There was another pinging sound. "Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?"

_"She is complete. It begins."_ The droid answered before all of the droids vanished in a teleport.

"What's happening?" Rose asked, looking around in case any droids had remained.

The Doctor looked at Ember in time to see her bite her lip nervously. "One of them must have found the right time window. Now it's time to send in the troops. And this time they're bringing back her head."

* * *

The Doctor sent Rose to a time window that would let her see Reinette five years early, and it wasn't long before he found the time window to when she would be 37: it turned out to be right there in the main console room, disguised as a giant mirror that hung in the ballroom in Versailles.

"Mickey, go get Rose." The Doctor said as he worked to set up a way for them to hear what was going on on the other side of the glass. "Ember, go with him, make sure he doesn't get lost."

Mickey frowned. "I'm not gonna get lost!"

Ember lightly hit the Doctor on the arm before she moved to Mickey's side. She had yet to change out of the dress she'd borrowed, though now she wore the denim jacket over it. "I'll go, but only because I want to see Reinette. Mickey, I know you'll be fine."

That seemed to make the young man feel better, if his grateful smile toward her was any indication. The two of them had only left the room before he spoke again. "Thanks for that. You've told me before that I'm not the tin dog, but I haven't done much to prove it."

"I haven't met Sarah Jane Smith yet, but I was there when you helped stopped the Slitheen." Ember replied. "I can't tell you much, and I know it probably won't feel like it's true, but you are more than the tin dog, and you're going to prove it soon."

Mickey smiled again, accepting what little she could tell him, and it was then that they reached a hanging tapestry that was the right time window to where Rose had gone.

"Rose? Rose?" Mickey called as he pulled back the tapestry. He spotted Rose come out from a nearby room, though she was followed by Reinette. "Rose! The time window where she's thirty seven. We found it. Right under our noses."

"No, you can't go in there," Rose said, seeing the French blonde make her way to the open time window. "The Doctor will go mad-"

Reinette ignored her, going past Mickey and into the spaceship. She spotted Ember standing there, sending her a gentle smile as Reinette looked around at what looked like a completely different world. Mickey and Rose followed a bit awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, Reinette." Ember said.

After a moment of staring, Reinette turned to the brunette. "So, this is his world. Your world."

Ember nodded. "But it's not always like this. Sometimes it's beautiful."

"I can only imagine." Reinette was about to smile when suddenly there were screams from somewhere in the ship. "What was that?"

"The time window." Mickey replied. "The Doctor fixed an audio link."

Reinette looked shaken. "Those screams. Is that my future?"

Rose nodded reluctantly. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Then I must take the slower path." The French aristocrat said, but then a new voice could be heard that shook her even more.

_"Are you there? Can you hear me?"_ It was her own voice. _"I need you now, you promised! The clock on the mantel is broken! It is time!"_

"That's my voice!"

Mickey didn't know what so say to that, so he turned to Rose. "Rose, come on. We've got to go. There's, there's a problem."

"Go," Ember said, making them look at her. "Go on. I got this." The humans left, and the brunette turned to look at Reinette. "I'm sorry. I wish I could do more..."

"No, please don't." Reinette said. "I'm very afraid. But you and I both know, don't we, Ember; the Doctor is worth the monsters. And so are you. If you wish to do more, then please... be there for me like he promises he will."

Ember bit her lip, and then nodded. "We'll both be there. Be strong."

Reinette nodded, turning to the tapestry and going back into her world, ignoring the calls of her future self. Ember took a breath to gather herself and turned to go back down the corridor and into the main control room, where the Doctor was looking more frustrated with the lack of progress.

"They knew we were coming," she said to Rose and Mickey when they looked at her in askance.

"They blocked it off." The Doctor added, glancing up at the large screen that was now on the far wall, showing the ballroom in France. They could see several of droids herding the scared aristocrats to the sides of the room.

"I don't get it. How come they got in there?" Rose asked.

"They teleported. You saw them. As long as the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short range teleports will do the trick."

"Well, we'll go in the Tardis!"

"We can't use the Tardis. We're part of events now."

Mickey piped up. "Well, can't we just smash through?"

"Hyperplex this side, plate glass the other. We need a truck."

"We don't have a truck."

"I know we don't have a truck!"

"Well, we've got to try something!" Rose said before the two men could get into an unnecessary argument.

"No. Smash the glass, smash the time window." The Doctor said quickly. "There'd be no way back."

Ember glanced back and turned, going into the corridor. No one noticed.

_"Could everyone just calm down? Please!"_ Reinette's voice made everyone else look at the window, to see the woman standing in the centre of the ballroom. _"__Such a commotion. Such distressing noise. Kindly remember that this is Versailles. This is the Royal Court, and we are French."_ She looked at the droids. _"I have made a decision. And my decision is no, I shall not be going with you today. I have seen your world, and I have no desire to set foot there again."_

_"We do not require your feet."_ The lead droid replied as two others moved to flank Reinette and pushing on her shoulders to make go to her knees.

The Doctor made an irritated sound as he tried again to do something, but to no avail. "There has to be something-"

A loud neigh came from behind them, making them turn to find Arthur the horse trotting into the room. Upon the saddle, to their greater surprise, was Ember.

"Turns out I can ride a horse," The brunette said with a sheepish shrug. "Who knew? Guess I just needed to give it a go."

"Ember, what are you doing?" The Doctor asked, running up to her.

Ember tightened her hold on the reins. "I promised Reinette that we'd be there, both of us. And while we don't have a truck..." she pat the horse on the neck. "I did suggest we take him home."

The Doctor grinned as he got the hint, moving to get up on the horse himself so that he was sat behind the brunette. If he saw the blush on her face from the closeness, he didn't show it.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Rose asked.

"Fixing the clock," Ember replied. "Here's a hint. No, a spoiler. Wait for us. It'll be a little over five hours, but we'll be back."

The Doctor didn't give them the chance to say anything else, grabbing the reins and giving the horse a gentle kick to get it to move. With a run up and no fear, the horse ran right at the mirror, going right through it with a crash of glass. The Doctor was quick to cover Ember as much as he could as they went through the time window, landing in the ballroom in France. Reinette, as well as everyone else, were shocked at the sudden entrance, though she smiled when the Doctor winked at her and Ember waved.

The Doctor quickly stilled the horse and dismounted. "Madame de Pompadour. You look younger every day."

One of the male aristocrats spoke. "What the hell is going on?"

Reinette, who'd been staring at the new arrivals, blinked and cleared her throat. "Oh. This is my lover, the King of France."

"Yeah? Well, I'm the Lord of Time. And this is the Great Fire." Ember blushed at the Doctor's introduction. "And we're here to fix the clock."

He walked over to the lead droid and pulled off the wig and mask, making the other aristocrats gasp and murmur in shock at the cogwheels. The droid raised its arm and pointed its blade at the Doctor's throat.

"Forget it. It's over. For you and for us." The Doctor glanced looked up at the remains of the mirror they'd come through, seeing the brick wall beyond. "Talk about seven years bad luck. Try three thousand."

Ember dismounted the horse but didn't move away, gently petting his nose. "One way trip."

The Doctor saw the droid try to activate its teleport fruitlessly. "The link with the ship is broken. No way back. You don't have the parts. How many ticks left in that clockwork heart, huh? A day? An hour? It's over. Accept that. I'm not winding you up."

There was a pause, and the droids all bent over, powering down. One of them even fell over backward, it's glass head smashing and sending cogs scattering across the floor.

The Doctor reached out a hand to Reinette. "You all right?"

"What's happened to them?" She asked as she accepted the hand and stood.

"They've stopped. They have no purpose now."

Ember pet the horse again. She wasn't sure what to say in the silence, so she kept quiet.

* * *

It was about a few hours later. The guests at the ball had left, the droids were taken away to be taken apart and their pieces scattered to avoid changes in time, and even Arthur the horse was returned to his stable.

Ember had a hand in that last one, making sure that the man who'd threatened to whip the horse was no longer in charge and making the other stablemasters promise a life of luxury for the horse who'd 'helped save the King's mistress'.

By the time she returned, still wearing the dress with the denim jacket, the Doctor was stood by one of the windows, looking up at the night sky with a goblet of wine in his hand. Ember was about to enter the room when a hand took hers, making her glance over to see Reinette. The French aristocrat smiled at her before leading her over to the window to join the Doctor.

"You know all their names, don't you?" Reinette said, getting his attention. "I saw that in your mind. The name of every star."

The Doctor shrugged. "What's in a name? Names are just titles. Titles don't tell you anything."

"Like the Doctor, and the Great Fire."

"Like Madame de Pompadour."

Reinette smiled at the tease. "I have often wished to see those stars a little closer. Just as you have, I think."

"From time to time." The Doctor looked at the window again, taking Ember's hand.

"In saving me, you trapped yourselves." Reinette pointed out, noticing the gesture but not saying anything. "Did you know that would happen?"

"Mmm. Pretty much."

"Yet, still you came."

Ember smiled. "We did promise."

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" The Doctor did the same. "Catch is doing that again."

Reinette looked thoughtful. "There were many doors between my world and yours. Can you not use one of the others?"

"When the mirror broke, the shock would have severed all the links with the ship. There'll be a few more broken mirrors and torn tapestries around here, I'm afraid, wherever there was a time window. I'll... I'll pay for any damage." The Doctor offered, only to realise something. "Uh, that's a thought, I'm going to need money. I was always a bit vague about money. Where do you get money?"

"So, here you are, my angels, stuck on the slow path with me."

"Yep, the slow path. Here's to the slow path."

Reinette followed his toast before looking up at the night sky. "It's a pity. I think I would've enjoyed the slow path."

"Well, we're not going anywhere." The Doctor said, missing the way Ember smirked.

"Oh, aren't you?" Reinette said, making them look at her. "Take my hand."

Puzzled, the Doctor allowed her to lead him and Ember out of the room and down the corridor to a lavish bedroom, where a familiar fireplace stood.

Reinette allowed the Doctor to step closer and examine the piece. "It's not a copy, it's the original. I had it moved here and was exact in every detail."

"The fireplace from your bedroom... When did you do this?"

"Many years ago, in the hope that a door once opened, may someday open again. One never quite knows when one needs one's Doctor." Reinette smiled as she watched him examine the mantle. "It appears undamaged. Do you think it will still work?"

"You broke the bond with the ship when you moved it, which means it was offline when the mirror broke. That's what saved it. But the link is basically physical, and it's still physically here. Which might just mean, if we're lucky... If we're very, very, very, very, very, very lucky..."

Ember felt Reinette squeeze her hand and looked over, her hearts sinking as she took in the French woman's resigned expression. She knew.

"Ah ha!" The Doctor suddenly cried after tapping the mantle.

"What?" Reinette asked, schooling her features.

"Loose connection." The Doctor got out his Sonic and pointed it at the fireplace. "Need to get a man in."

Ember watched as he gave the fireplace a thump that was responded with a loud clunk.

The Doctor let out a cheer as he moved to the side of the fireplace. "Wish us luck!"

"No." Reinette almost whimpered, her mask falling. The Doctor didn't get the chance to ask as the fireplace turned on the spot, sending him back to the ship. Reinette then turned to Ember. "You should go, before it's too late."

Ember looked at her, recognising that expression. Reinette was smart; she knew that this was probably it. "I... will you be okay?"

Reinette nodded. "Yes. I have been blessed to have had you both in my life, even if I cannot walk the same path as you. Thank you, Ember, for everything."

The brunette bit her lip, but nodded, letting go of her hand to go to the fireplace, copying the Doctor's previous move so that it turned to let her back on the ship. The Doctor smiled as he saw her appear.

"What took you so long?" He asked, though he didn't wait for an answer, nor did he see Ember's downcast expression as he crouched down in front of fire. "Madame de Pompadour!" He waited only a second before the French aristocrat appeared on the other side. "Still want to see those stars?"

Reinette smiled, her face lighting up with the first hint of hope. "More than anything."

"Give me two minutes. Pack a bag."

"Am I going somewhere?"

"Go to the window. Pick a star. Any star." The Doctor jumped up and grabbed Ember's hand as he ran out of the room.

Ember bit her lip again. "Doctor..."

She didn't get the chance to finish, as they reached the control room where Rose and Mickey were waiting. The two humans jumped up in surprise and relief at the sight of them.

"How long did you wait?" The Doctor asked as he hugged Rose.

"Five and a half hours, just like Ember said."

"Great. Always wait five and a half hours."

"Where've you been?" Rose asked, watching as the Doctor went to hug Mickey only to pause and shake his hand instead.

"Explain later. Into the Tardis. Be with you in a sec."

He dashed out of the room before anyone could reply. Ember hesitated as the humans went into the Tardis, and then she followed the Doctor just as he stood from being crouched in front of the fire. He gestured with his head for her to follow, waiting until she was on the other side of the fireplace before he hit the switch and made it turn to let them back into France.

The room was dark, which made the Doctor worry just slightly as he saw Ember bite her lip this time. He took her hand and led her out of the room and down the corridor.

"Reinette?" He called as they reached another room, only to pause as they saw the familiar face of King Louis standing by the window. "Oh, hello."

"You just missed her. She'll be in Paris by six." The king said before he turned to look at them, his eyes widening slightly. "Good Lord. She was right. She said you never looked a day older. So many years since I saw you last, but not a day of it on your face. And you're even wearing that same dress..."

Ember bit her lip and looked away, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to hold back the tears.

"She spoke of you both many times. Often wished you'd visit again." The king moved to a desk near the window and opened a drawer, pulling out an envelope. The Doctor's hearts sank as he realised that the king was talking about Reinette in the past tense. "You know how women are."

The Doctor accepted the envelope when it was handed to him, noticing something that puzzled him, but before he could speak, there was horse neighing and a whip cracking that made the two men look out of the window. A hearse pulled by a black horse began to leave, the hooves barely heard over the pouring rain.

"There she goes." The king sighed. "Leaving Versailles for the last time. Only forty three when she died. Too young. Too young. Illness took her in the end. She always did work too hard. What does she say?"

He had been referring to the envelope he'd given the Doctor, but his response was to silently put it in his jacket pocket.

The king nodded. "Of course. Quite right."

They watched for a few more seconds before the Doctor finally turned away, putting his arm around Ember to guide her with him back to the room with the fireplace.

"I'm sorry," the brunette murmured just as they reached the fireplace. She hadn't looked at him since the king had spoke, but her wet cheeks told more than words could. "I..."

The Doctor pulled her close, making a soft hushing noise before he spoke. "It's not your fault."

"But I could have warned you..."

"It's alright. We saved her from becoming the computer of a spaceship. That's good enough."

Together, they used the fireplace to go back to the ship, leaving France for the final time. They then returned to the Tardis, where Rose and Mickey were waiting in the console room.

"Why her?" Rose asked after a few moments of silence. She knew from their faces what had happened. "Why did they think they could repair the ship with the head of Madame de Pompadour?"

"We'll probably never know." The Doctor replied. "There was massive damage in the computer memory banks. It probably got confused."

"They were the same." The other three turned at Ember's voice. She was standing beside the captains chair, fiddling with the edges of her sleeves. "In the only way that mattered to the droids: This ship is called the SS Madame De Pompadour."

The Doctor looked at the monitor, looking lost in thought. "The Tardis can close down the time windows now the droids are gone. Should stop it causing any more trouble."

Rose noticed his solemn expression. "Are you all right?"

"I'm always all right."

There was a tense moment of quiet before Mickey spoke. "Come on, Rose. It's time you showed me around the rest of this place."

Rose didn't argue, senseing that the Doctor needed a moment alone, and led Mickey out of the console room. Ember made to follow, though she was stopped when the Doctor gently took her arm as she passed him. "I thought you needed a minute alone to read that letter."

The Doctor nodded slightly, but didn't release her arm. Instead, he used his free hand to reach into his jacket and take out not one but two envelopes. "I think you should have this."

Ember blinked, seeing the Doctor's name written in elegant, feminine handwriting on the first envelope, but the second had her name on it. She took it from him and watched as he let go of her arm and moved to the other side of the console with his own envelope. "Um, did you want me to go?"

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like the company," The Doctor said softly, glancing over to send her a strained smile.

Nodding, Ember moved to sit on the captain's chair - slightly difficult with the dress, but she managed it - and turned the envelope over, gently peeling the wax seal off so she could open it and take out the paper folded neatly inside. When she unfolded it, the handwritten letter was in the same style as on the envelope.

_My dearest Ember,_

_Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have known you and the Doctor. I only wish that I could have been at your side to walk the path with you. Though I hope to see you one last time, I fear that it is not to be._

_Allow me to impart something unto you, to ease what I expect to be a troubled heart. Between the time I showed you the last doorway between our worlds and the time I write this now, you have visited me but once more. Like the images I glimpsed in the Doctor's mind so long ago, I believe this to be in your future as well as his own. I know not the circumstances of your visit, but I could tell that you had grown so much since we last met. The Doctor was with you as well, and though he looked to be in great pain, the kindness in his eyes had not changed._

_You asked me to be brave, and I have been to the best of my ability. I ask now that you do the same, and do not let your fears become your voice nor your prison._

_God speed, my Great Fire._

Ember blinked hard when the words became blurry, tears trailing down her face. She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her free hand, and then she jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. The brunette looked up to see the Doctor now stood beside her, his eyes concerned. Ember quickly folded the letter and put it back in the envelope before she put it in her jacket pocket, once again thanking the bigger-on-the-inside feature, before she let the Doctor pull her into an embrace, allowing her to cry quietly into his chest.

The Doctor swallowed hard, glancing over at where he'd left his own letter on the console after turning off the time window in the fireplace.m, just before he noticed Ember's crying. The words on the letter came back to him as he rocked the brunette gently.

_My dear Doctor,_

_The path has never seemed more slow, and yet I fear I am nearing its end. Reason tells me that you and I are unlikely to meet again, but I think I shall not listen to reason. I have seen the world inside your head, and know that all things are possible. Hurry though, my dearest. My days grow shorter now, and I am so very weak. _

_In the event that we do not meet, I shall impart one last piece of advice to you. What you have already experienced in your past is her future as well as yours. I urge you not to allow it to change. Hold on to her, as you always should._

_God speed, my angel._

The Doctor took a deep breath, tightening his hold on Ember as she clung to him. The two remained like that for a long time after, seeking comfort in each other as they mourned.

* * *

Ok, and there we have it! Hope you enjoyed! Care to take a guess as to when or even why Ember goes to see Reinette again? I've love to hear what you're thinking and if your guess is right.

Um, got a slight conundrum. Well, two, actually.

Here's the more important one first: I had planned to have two big surprises at the end of this part of the saga. One of them is one that is probably already expected by now, while the other is finally revealing what Ember's 'other biology' is. I had put the reveal first and then the other surprise, but would you rather it be the other way around? We get the surprise first and then Ember's revealation? They kinda both need to happen, but let me know what you'd prefer.

Now for the other. I've been spending the last couple of weeks catching up on the last few seasons, and I have had a slight temptation on continuing the saga from where I'd originally planned to end it. I've even had a slight temptation to do a whole new fic that involves the newest seasons. I do have a draft of a fic that has a whole different character and storyline. I'd love to know what you all think.

Next Time: Ember has to hide from the Doctor for his own safety, but that doesn't mean she can't help. Stay tuned!


	23. Chapter Twenty Three: Human Nature

Okay, this one was a bit complicated to write, but I hope I did good. There's going to be a couple of scenes without Ember in it, but it involves her so it needed to be done.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Three: Human Nature

* * *

Farringham School for Boys. Where the soldiers of tomorrow were given not only an education, but training to be in combat should the need arise.

In the school, unknown to everyone bar one, the Doctor was hiding, having changed himself into a human to remain hidden until pursuing aliens died off. Martha was the only one who knew the truth, and was posing as a maid to keep watch over him until the time was right.

A neat woman - Nurse Redfern - in a starched nurses uniform nearly bumped into the Doctor, who at that moment was under the alias of John Smith, carrying a large pile of books. "Oh, good morning, Mister Smith."

In avoiding the almost-collision, John dropped a book, but was able to keep the majority of them in his arms. "There we go!"

"Let me help you," Redfern offered.

"No, no, I've got it, no. Uh, how best to retrieve? Tell you what. If you could take these..." he carefully handed Redfern the books he was carrying before he quickly picked up the fallen ones. "No harm done. So, uh, how was Jenkins?"

Redfern glanced back at where a boy had been leaving. "Oh just a cold. Nothing serious. I think he's missing his mother more than anything."

"Oh, we can't have that."

"He received a letter this morning, so he's a lot more chipper. I appear to be holding your books."

"Yes, so you are." John blinked. "Sorry, sorry. Just let me..."

"No, why don't I take half?"

"Ah, brilliant idea. Brilliant." He took the top half of the pile from her. "Perfect division of labour."

"We make quite a team."

"Don't we just."

Redfern smiled. "So, these books. Were they being taken in any particular direction?"

"Uh, yes! Yes. This way." John led them into a smaller corridor. "I always say, Matron, give the boys a good head of steam, they'll soon wear themselves out."

"Truth be told, when it's just you and me, I'd much rather you call me Nurse Redfern. Matron sounds rather well... matronly."

"Ah. Nurse Redfern it is then."

"Though we've known each other all of two months, you could even say Joan."

John blinked again. "Joan?"

"That's my name."

"Well, obviously."

"And it's John, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes, it is, yes."

Redfern smiled again. The man before her was almost blissfully oblivious to her subtle flirting. It was cute. She spotted a notice board at the top of some stairs, or rather the poster that was pinned to it, and tried a different approach."Have you seen this, John? The annual dance at the village hall tomorrow. It's nothing formal, but rather fun by all accounts. Do you think you'll go?"

"I hadn't thought about it." John replied honestly.

"It's been ages since I've been to a dance, only no one's asked me."

This time he caught on, evidenced by the light dusting of red across his cheeks as he nervously backed away. "Well, I should imagine that you'd be, er, I mean, I never thought you'd be one for... I mean, there's no reason why you shouldn't... If you do, you may not... I, I probably won't, but even if I did then I couldn't... I mean I wouldn't want to-"

"The stairs." Redfern said.

"What about the stairs?"

"They're right behind you."

Before he could fathom that, he took one more step back and only met air. With a yelp, he fell back, tumbling down in a flurry of books and papers.

* * *

A short time later, Martha - in the guise of a house maid - came running to John's private study, bursting through the door without knocking. She found John sat on a chair while Nurse Redfern was checking the back of his head for injury from his fall.

"Is he all right?" Martha asked, panting.

Redfern immediately frowned. "Excuse me, Martha. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking."

"Sorry. Right. Yeah." Martha made a show of going back to the door to knock on it before she approached again. "But is he all right? They said you fell down the stairs, Sir."

"No, it was just a tumble, that's all." John said.

"Have you checked for concussion?"

Redfern was trying not to glare at the woman who, in her mind, was being very rude. "I have. And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you."

Martha bit her lip to stop a witty retort before she straightened. "Sorry. I'll just tidy your things."

John either didn't notice the obvious animosity between the two women, or he didn't want to get in the middle of it. "I was just telling Nurse Redfern-Matron, about my dreams. They are quite remarkable tales. I keep imagining that I'm someone else, and that I'm hiding."

"Hiding?" Redfern asked. "In what way?"

"They're almost every night. This is going to sound silly..."

"Tell me."

"I dream, quite often, that I have two hearts."

"Well, then. I can be the judge of that. Let's find out." Redfern picked up her stethoscope to listen to John's chest. Martha paused, waiting with baited breath until Redfern pulled away. "I can confirm the diagnosis. Just one heart, singular."

John nodded and stood up, moving to his desk to pick up a worn, leather bound book. "I have, uh, I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction... Not that it would be of any interest."

"I'd be very interested." Redfern said, smiling at him.

"Well, I've never actually shown it to anyone before..."

Redfern took the book and opened it, finding a title at the front and then pages of inky sketches and pictures. "A Journal of Impossible Things. Just look at these creatures." She passed over a sketch of a Dalek. "Such imagination."

"It's become quite a hobby." John shrugged as more sketches were shown: The Moxx of Balhoon, Autons labelled as plastic men, one of the Pompadour clockwork robots...

"It's wonderful." Redfern paused at a sketch of a blonde girl: Rose Tyler. "And quite an eye for the pretty girls."

John looked slightly flustered. "Oh no, no, she's just an invention. This character, Rose. I call her Rose. Seems to disappear later on."

Redfern turned the page and found another sketch of a woman, this one with darker hair and an odd feature. It looked like flames were dancing around her, but she showed no fear. "And this one? That's an awful scar... what could have caused that?"

"Um, that one... is Ember. She kind of... pops up and disappears at random times. That scar... well, she was trying to protect someone. This fire... she can control it, command it and other forces of nature. The wind and water and earth. Sometimes I can't tell what she was supposed to mean to me. Were we friends, or something... else..."

Martha glanced up, seeing the lost look that briefly crossed the man's face.

If Redfern saw it, she didn't comment, turning a few more pages until she found one depicting a blue box labelled 'magic box'.

"Ah, that's the box." John said, happy to change the subject. "The blue box. It's always there. Like a, like a magic carpet. This funny little box that transports me to far away places."

"Like a doorway?"

"Mmm. I sometimes think how magical life would be if stories like this were true."

"If only..."

"It's just a dream."

Redfern turned another page, finding a sketch of an ornate pocket watch. Unbeknownst to her, that very same watch was resting on the mantelpiece...

* * *

Redfern was just leaving the room a few minutes later when Martha caught up with her. "Ma'am? That book..."

"Oh, I'll look after it." The nurse said. "Don't worry. He did say I could read it."

"But it's silly, that's all. Just stories."

Redfern looked at her for a long moment. "Who is he, Martha?"

"I'm sorry?"

"It's like he's left the kettle on. Like he knows he has something to get back to, but he can't remember what. Or who..."

Martha shook her head. "That's just him."

"You arrived with him, didn't you? He found you employment here at the school, isn't that right?"

"I used to work for the family. He just sort of inherited me."

"Well, I'd be careful. If you don't mind my saying, you sometimes seem a little familiar with him." Redfern fixed her with firm look. "Best remember your position."

"...Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Not for the first time, Ember was thankful that whatever made her jump along the timelines allowed her to have a shower and a change of clothes before whisking her away. Now she was dressed in black jeans, red converse, a dark blue top and her denim jacket, and she'd just put her hair up in a short ponytail before she jumped.

When she could see her surroundings, concern filled her when she saw that she was in the Tardis, during Nine or Ten's era, but it seemed to have been powered down: Most of the lights were off and it was too quiet.

Just then, the door leading outside opened and in came Martha. What puzzled the brunette was that she was dressed like a maid, though most of it was covered by a long coat.

"Hello." The Doctor-in-training said, looking up at the ceiling, and then she huffed. "I'm talking to a machine..."

"A machine that can hear and understand you," Ember said, smiling when the woman jumped. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Hi, Martha."

Martha smiled as she crossed the room and hugged the brunette. "Oh, am I glad to see you."

"Likewise. So what's going on?"

"These aliens were chasing us, and they can smell Time Lords, so the Doctor made himself human to hide."

Ember blinked, recalling the episode now. "Ah. And judging by your expression, you've seen something and now you're worried."

Martha nodded. "Yea, there was this shooting star and a green light. What was it?"

"If I'm right, it's trouble. Didn't the Doctor leave a message?"

"Uh, yeah, I was going to look." Martha moved to where the monitor was, pressing a few buttons. "Here it is."

The screen turned on, showing the console room before the Doctor himself appeared on the screen.

_"This working?"_ He said, tapping something before he focused on the screen itself. _"Martha, before I change, here's a list of instructions for when I'm human. One, don't let me hurt anyone. We can't have that, but you know what humans are like. Two, don't worry about the Tardis. I'll put it on emergency power so they can't detect it. Just let it hide away. Four-No, wait a minute, three. No getting involved in big historical events. Four, you. Don't let me abandon you. And fi-"_

Martha cut it off by fast forwarding it impatiently. "But there was a meteor, a shooting star. What am I supposed to do then?"

She let the message play on, and Ember was surprised when it resumed earlier than it had in the show. _"Twenty two: Ember. If you're listening, that means you've popped up while I'm human. I'm sorry, but you'll have to hide from me. If I see you, it might trigger something in my subconscious. They won't be able to track you because they haven't met you, and your... other biology will hide the fact that you're a Time Lord. Even if they find out about you, they can't use you; you'd burn them out and they know it. Only show yourself to me when it's time to bring me back, or if they come. That brings me to twenty three. If anything goes wrong, if they find us, Martha, then you know what to do. Open the watch. Everything I am is kept safe in there. Now, I've put a perception filter on it so the human me won't think anything of it. To him, it's just a watch. But don't open it unless you have to. Because once it's open, then the Family will be able to find me. It's all down to you, Martha. Your choice. Oh, and thank you."_

The screen went black, and Martha sighed. "I wish you'd come back."

"It's ok. It shouldn't be much longer now." Ember said, patting her shoulder. "You keep an eye on him at the school. I'll scope out the village and see what I can find about that meteor."

Nodding, Martha left, allowing Ember to plan.

* * *

_She was angry. They dared to wake her again?_

_But the person she saw was not who she expected. Instead of the pompous officials who were so stuck up their own backsides it was a miracle that they could speak, it was a boy. A child who looked around fifteen years, but she could tell that he was much older than that. He had dark blonde hair that was cut short and wearing a black top and trousers, and he had light blue eyes._

_It was his expression that made her soften. The boy looked terrified. But it didn't surprise her really, since their surroundings weren't that nice._

_There were several people surrounding the boy, tall and imposing. She couldn't see their faces, but she didn't have to._

_"Leave him alone!" She said, her voice almost booming. Almost immediately, the tall forms turned and walked away without a word. The boy shook, confused, and then he looked at her._

_"Who are you?" He asked, the slight tremor in his voice giving away his fear._

_She tilted her head. "You don't know me?"_

_The boy shook his head. "No. How did you get down here?"_

_"I'm always down here," she slowly approached, moving to kneel in front of the boy. "Tell me, child. Why are you here?"_

_The boy looked away. "I ran."_

_"... is that fun?"_

* * *

Ember sat up from where she'd dozed off in the captain's chair. She'd closed her eyes only an hour ago to rest after trying to think and plan, but it seemed that her subconscious had other ideas.

The dream she'd just had echoed in her mind. Who were those people? And that boy? Their identities were right there on the edge of her thoughts, but she couldn't grasp them long enough to remember.

With a soft grumble, she forced herself to get up and get ready. The meaning of her dream could wait.

* * *

A few hours later, after gathering some things and finding a long coat with a hood so she could walk around without being seen or questioned for her modern-day clothing, Ember left the Tardis, heading into the little village that the Doctor had hidden himself in. Thanks to her hood, she avoided getting stopped by a lot of people, though many of them did stare if they caught sight of the scar on her face.

She was just passing the main square when she spotted the Doctor - or John Smith, as he was currently - walking with who she recognised as Nurse Redfern from the school. Keeping out of sight, she managed to get close enough to be able to hear their conversation.

"His name was Oliver." Redfern was saying. "He died in the battle of Spion Cop. We were childhood sweethearts. But you see, I was angry with the army for such a long time."

"You still are." John pointed out. It wasn't a question.

"I find myself as part of that school watching boys learn how to kill."

"Don't you think discipline is good for them?"

"Does it have to be such military discipline? I mean, if there's another war those boys won't find it so amusing."

"Well, Great Britain is at peace, long may it reign."

Redfern smiled, but only slightly. "In your journal, in one of your stories, you wrote about next year. Nineteen fourteen."

John shook his head. "That was just a dream."

"All those images of mud and wire. You told of a shadow. A shadow falling across the entire world."

"Well then, we can be thankful it's not true. And I'll admit mankind doesn't need warfare and bloodshed to prove itself. Everyday life can provide honour and valour, and let's hope that from now on this, this country can find its heroes in smaller places..."

Ember saw that he was getting distracted by the workmen who were using a rope to lift a piano to a higher floor window. A woman with a pushchair came around the corner.

"In the most..." John murmured, eyeing a young boy standing next to him, or rather the cricket ball that he was tossing up and down into his hand. The rope holding the piano frayed, making it drop a bit. "Ordinary of... of deeds..."

Seemingly without thinking, he reached out and snatched the ball before the boy could catch it, throwing it at some scaffolding that was outside an Ironmongers. The ball hit one of the poles, making it fall and hit a plank, which then sent a brick flying through the air to knock down a milk churn, which in turn landed in front of the woman and her pushchair. It made her stop, just before the rope finally gave up and the piano dropped to the ground mere feet in front. The resulting crash of the piano made it fall apart as the baby in the pushchair began crying.

One of the workmen quickly ran over to the mother and infant. "Are you all right? How's the little one?"

"Lucky." John breathed, looking surprised by his own action.

Redfern looked at him in disbelief. "That was luck?"

John turned to face her, but whatever question he had been about to ask died on his lips as he caught sight of Ember, who was watching it all from behind a cart carrying hay.

The brunette went wide eyed when she realised her mistake and quickly ran, using the cart and the chaos from the near-tragic accident to get away before she could be pursued.

"John?" Redfern hadn't seen her, more concerned about John, who looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Are you alright?"

"Um, yes, I... thought I saw something," John shook his head before looking at the nurse. "Nurse Redfern, might I invite you to the village dance this evening... as my guest?"

Redfern smiled. "You extraordinary man."

* * *

Ember cursed herself as she ran, making her way back to the Tardis. That was stupid of her, to just hang about like that! Of course she was going to be seen. She should have known better!

"That's it," She said as she reached the barn that hid the Tardis. "I'm staying in the box."

* * *

Back at the school, John and Nurse Redfern were in his study, the former sketching while the latter sat still.

"Can I see?" She asked when it looked like he was done. John moved to sit next to her on the chesterfield and show her the sketch. "Oh, goodness Do I look like that? Are you sure that's not me?" She turned back a page to show a Slitheen.

John shook his head, turning the page back. "Most definitely this page. Do you like it?"

"You've made me far too beautiful."

"Well, that's how I see you."

"Widows aren't supposed to be beautiful. I think the world would rather we stopped. Is that fair? That we stop?"

"That's not fair at all." John stroked her hair gently before leaning in. Just before they kissed, he saw something flash in his mind's eye: the silver-eyed brunette he'd seen in the village. He pulled back at the sudden shame he felt in his stomach, almost like he was about to cheat on who, until now, he'd thought was a woman from his own imagination. He couldn't be sure now, not after that brief glimpse of her in the village. A normal brunette with grey/blue eyes wouldn't have been too improbable to encounter, but those silver eyes and that scar...

Redfern saw him hesitate. "What's wrong?"

"I... I never..." he trailed off, unsure of why he was feeling this way.

The nurse moved slightly closer, about to try to kiss him herself, when the door burst open. Martha stopped in her tracks as she saw the two and how close they were.

"Martha, what have I told you about entering unannounced?" John said, frustrated not only with his servant's sudden lack of manners but his own conflicting emotions.

Martha didn't bother to answer or apologise, and simply ran out of the room again.

* * *

After going back to the Tardis, Martha was looking at the recorded instructions again.

_"__Four. You."_ The Doctor said on the screen. _"Don't let me abandon you."_

"That's no good. What about the stuff you didn't tell me?" Martha grumbled as she fast forward the video again. "What about women? Oh no, you didn't think of that. What in hell am I supposed to do then?"

_"Thank you."_

"Martha?" The Doctor-in-training looked up, to find Ember entering the console room. "Are you alright?"

Martha shook her head, unsure of what to tell her about what she'd seen in the study. "Um... They're here, aren't they? They've found us."

Ember sighed. "I had a feeling they would. Ok, let's-argh!"

Her head chose that moment to throb, making her reach out to grab the console to keep herself from falling. She heard Martha call out to her before her vision went white...

_Latimer, who had taken the watch, was running after seeing Baines, Mister Clarke and a little girl acting strangely. _

_But he missed the scarecrows, who cut him off at the pass. He was caught, then killed, and the watch was left in the mud, it's true purpose forgotten..._

_Then the scene changed. This time, Latimer was running away from the school, after having driven away the girl that was not a girl, but an alien._

_But then he was caught by scarecrows again, and this time Baines approached, killing the boy and taking the watch..._

Ember gasped, flailing slightly as she felt arms holding her up, only to relax when she realised that it was Martha. "Ember! What happened? What did you see?"

"Trouble," the brunette said, shaking her head to clear it. That was the first time she'd had two visions in one go, but they both had the same warning; Latimer was in danger. "Go back to the school. Keep your eyes open. Here's a hint; you don't put gravy or mutton in a teapot."

Martha looked confused by the odd hint, but she knew better than to argue. She quickly left, leaving Ember to grab her hooded coat from the back of the captain's chair before she left as well.

_'This is going too fast'_, she thought to herself. _'It's not supposed to be this soon!'_

* * *

The brunette was quick to get to the school grounds, keeping out of sight. She found who she was looking for soon after: Latimer was sitting on a bench by a tree, holding the watch and staring at it intently. As Ember reached the other side of the tree, she could hear whispering voices coming from the watch.

_"Darkness is coming."_ A woman's voice whispered. _"Do not fear the Storms of Fire..."_

The Doctor's was next. _"Keep me away from the false and empty man. The Fire will protect you."_

_"The last of the Time Lords."_ Another man's voice. _"The last of that wise and ancient race."_

Then the woman again. _"Merge with the faces of men."_

Ember watched as Latimer suddenly looked up and across the space, to see Baines walk up to Mister Clark, then a red balloon bobbing along behind a wall before a little girl joined them. All together they tilted their heads to the right and sniffed deeply.

Latimer got up from the bench and turned, sneaking away, and Ember followed silently. Just as she saw in her vision, several scarecrows appeared to block the boy's path.

"Hi, boys," She said loudly, making Latimer turn to look at her in surprise as the scarecrows stopped. "Sorry, but I got news for you: you're on fire."

With a sweep of her hand, the scarecrows burst into flames, not even making a sound. In seconds, there was nothing left of them but ash. Latimer blinked before he looked at her again, the voices from the watch keeping him from speaking or running.

_"It's her!"_ The woman's voice called.

_"The Great Fire!"_ The man's joined in.

The Doctor's followed. _"Trust her. She'll protect you..."_

The voices trailed off, giving Latimer the chance to speak. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Ember. And they're right; I will protect you."

"You can hear them?"

Nodding, Ember stepped forward, holding out her hand. After a moment's hesitation, the boy handed her the watch. The metal was warm in her palm, and it was hard to tell if it was because the boy had been holding it or if the presence inside was greeting her.

_"Ember..."_ the Doctor's voice whispered, clearer now that she was holding the watch.

The brunette closed her eyes and brought to watch to her chest, sending all the warmth and comfort she could to the presence inside before she opened her eyes and held the watch out to Latimer.

"Don't you want to keep it?" He asked, puzzled.

"It's safer with you for now." Ember replied, letting him take it back. "And you're going to need it. Just keep it safe, okay? Now, we need to get ahead of them, and the only way to do that is to get to John Smith before they do."

Latimer tilted his head. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Technically, you don't know how. But you did give me the watch. I know about your abilities, so I know that you know you can trust me."

Another moment, and then Latimer nodded. "There's a dance tonight. I'm sure he'll be there with the Matron."

Ember nodded. "Then we need a plan."

* * *

By the time the two had reached the hall near the centre of the village, night had fallen. They'd been discussing a plan of what to do, and Ember had just sent Latimer in ahead of her when she saw Martha come running.

A man at the door, who hadn't seen Latimer sneak in, frowned when he saw the two women approach. "Oh, staff entrance, I think, ladies."

"Actually, here," Ember whipped out her psychic paper and a handful of coins to put in the pot he was holding. "Inspector. And you can go now. Good job, soldier."

Martha waited until they were safely inside before she spoke her mind. "And why did you do that?"

"If he stays out there, he'll be killed." Ember replied. "But enough about that. You have the Sonic, yes?"

"Yea, thought it might jog his memory." Martha nodded. "So what's the plan?"

"I'll keep a lookout while you go for John."

Nodding, the women split up. Ember kept an eye on the windows, but remained close so that she could hear the conversation as Martha went to the table where Nurse Redfern was sitting.

"Please, don't." She said as soon as she saw Martha. "Not again."

"He's different from any other man you've ever met, right?" Martha asked.

"...Yes."

"And sometimes he says these strange things, like people and places you've never heard of, yeah? But it's deeper than that. Sometimes when you look in his eyes you know, you just know that there's something else in there. Something hidden. Right behind the eyes, something hidden away... in the dark."

Redfern looked away. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do. I don't mean to be rude, but the awful thing is it doesn't even matter what you think. But you're nice. And you're lucky. And I just wanted to say sorry for what I'm about to do, but I care about my best friend more than I do about you."

Ember blinked, wondering who she was talking about, but it was at that moment that John returned to the table, having fetched a drink for himself and Redfern. He frowned when he saw his former maid. "Oh, now really, Martha. This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave."

Martha stood up and pulled the Sonic from her pocket, holding it out the John. "Do you know what this is? Name it. Go on, name it."

"John, what is that silly thing?" Redfern asked, but then saw his face. "John?"

John took the Sonic and looked at it. He didn't seem to know what it was, but there was a spark of recognition in his eye that Martha caught. "You're not John Smith. You're called the Doctor. The man in your journal, he's real. He's you."

Ember caught sight of the little girl who was now an alien, but before she could do anything, Martha spotted her standing at the window behind John and changed tactics.

"Look, do you know who that is?" She said, turning John around to face the surprised brunette. "You know her, don't you?"

John felt whatever words he had in his mouth vanish at the sight of the scarred brunette he'd seen in his dreams, right there in the flesh, right down to those silver eyes that seemed to stare into his soul. Then, one word finally came out as a shocked whisper. "Ember..."

Ember smiled shyly as she lowered her hood, but before she could say anything, Mister Clark strode purposely into the hall, followed by Baines and Jenny, knocking over a hat stand. Several scarecrows lumbered in as well.

"You will be silent!" The man yelled as several scarecrows entered the hall as well. "All of you! I said, silence!"

"Mister Clarke, what's going on?" A man asked, only for Clark to point a gun at him and vaporise him on the spot. Everyone began to panic.

Martha snatched the Sonic from John's hand and hid it in her coat. "Mister Smith? Everything I told you, just forget it! Don't say anything."

"We asked for silence!" Baines yelled, quieting the chaos. "Now then, we have a few questions for Mister Smith."

The little girl stepped out from behind him. "No, better than that. The teacher. He's the Doctor. I heard them talking."

"You took human form." Baines said.

John shook his head. "Of course I'm human. I was born human, as were you, Baines! And Jenny, and you, Mister Clark! What is going on? This is madness."

Baines had a creepy smile on his face. "Ooo, and a human brain, too. Simple, thick and dull."

"But he's no good like this." Jenny frowned.

"We need a Time Lord." Clark agreed.

"Easily done." Baines stepped forward and raised his gun, pointing it at John. The onlookers gasped and murmured in fright. "Change back."

John shook his head again. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Change back!"

"I literally do not know-"

Martha suddenly cried out as Jenny grabbed her from behind and put her gun to her head. "Get off me!"

"She's your friend, isn't she?" Jenny said. "Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"

"I don't know what you mean!"

"Wait a minute. The maid told me about Smith and the Matron. That woman, there."

"Then let's have you!" Clark stepped up and grabbed Redfern, putting his gun to her head.

Baines' smile got even more creepy, if that were possible. "Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, being human? Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or matron? Your friend or your lover? Your choice."

Ember narrowed her eyes.

* * *

Okay, that's part one. Part two should be up by Thursday, latest.

Quick question: I was going to leave out the bit where the Doctor punishes the Family, but would you rather I put it in? There won't be much difference except for Ember being there, but I don't mind writing it out if you want me to.

Next Time: Ember and John make an important decision, but would the consequences be worth it? Stay tuned!


	24. Chapter Twenty Four: Family Of Blood

Part two has arrived! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Twenty Four: Family Of Blood

* * *

The village hall was quiet as everyone watched Baines, Jenny and Clark threaten John, Martha and Nurse Redfern at gunpoint. Ember, who was strategically behind John and out of their viewpoint, narrowed her eyes.

"Make your decision, Mister Smith." Jenny said.

Baines smirked, the action far more creepy on his face than normal. "Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge."

Ember had had enough. She stepped around John so that she was stood between him and the gun pointing at him. "Back off, or you'll regret it!"

"And who are you with so much flare?" Baines asked, then blinked and sniffed deeply. "Oh, it's _you_! The Great Fire! Nice to put a face to the scent, even if it's a grotesque, scarred one. You're defending your Time Lord, are you?"

"To my last breath." Ember replied, ignoring the cheap shot about her face. "You must have noticed that some of your scarecrows are missing. You're looking at the one who burned them to the ground." She caught sight of Latimer on the far side of the room and was able to send a subtle nod to him.

Getting the hint, the boy opened the watch for only a moment, but the voices and golden energy from inside it was enough to get the attention of the aliens.

_"Time Lord..."_

"It's him!" Baines said, he and his family looking around.

Martha took advantage of the distraction to get the gun from Jenny and use her as a shield while she aimed the weapon at Baines. "All right! One more move and I shoot."

"Oh, the maid is full of fire!" Baines said, seemingly overjoyed. "Not as much as the other one, but just as well!"

"And you can shut up!" Martha fired a shot at the ceiling in warning.

"Careful, Son of Mine." Clark said. "This is all for you so that you can live forever."

Baines pointed his gun at Martha. "Shoot you down."

"Try it." Martha challenged. "We'll die together."

"Would you really pull the trigger? Looks too scared."

"Scared and holding a gun's a good combination. Do you want to risk it?"

Ember tilted her head. "You do things you wouldn't normally do when you're scared. Fear makes you more dangerous."

After a few tense seconds, Baines lowered his gun, as did Clark, which let Nurse Redfern move away from him and return to John's side.

"Doctor, get everyone out." Martha said. "There's a door at the side. It's over there. Go on. Do it, Mister Smith, I mean you!"

Redfern turned to the frightened people behind them. "Do what she said. Everybody out, now. Don't argue, Mister Jackson. They're mad. That's all we need to know. Susan, Miss Cooper, outside, all of you."

John saw Latimer and pulled him to join the leaving crowd. "Move yourself, boy. Back to the school, quickly!"

"And you." Martha said to John when he was the only one left other than Martha and Ember. "Go on. Just shift!"

"What about you?"

"Mister Smith, I think you should escort your lady friend to safety, don't you?"

Ember glanced back, noticing John hesitate. "Get going. We'll catch up."

After another moment's hesitation, John ran out. He found a few people outside and addressed them. "Mister Hicks, warn the village. Get everyone out. Latimer, get back to the school. Tell the headmaster-"

He had taken Latimer by the arm, only for him to roughly free himself. "Don't touch me! You're as bad as them! You'd better hope they don't kill Ember!"

John and Redfern watched him run off toward the school.

Back in the hall, Martha shoved Jenny back to her family as she continued to point the gun at them. "Don't try anything. I'm warning you, or Sonny boy gets it."

"She's almost brave, this one." Baines said.

"I should have taken her form. Much more fun. So much spirit." Jenny added as the family stepped closer, making Martha and Ember step back.

"What happened to Jenny?" Martha asked. "Is she gone?"

"She is consumed. Her body's mine."

"You mean she's dead."

"Yes. And she went with precious little dignity. All that screaming." She gave a mock cry to demonstrate.

A scarecrow suddenly appeared behind Martha, grabbing her and wrestling the gun from her hands, only to then burst into flames curtesy of Ember, who also made a line of fire shoot up between them and the family, giving the women an opening to get out of the hall.

Martha rolled her eyes as she saw John and Redfern waiting outside for them. "Don't just stand there, move! God, you're rubbish as a human. Come on!"

"Let's go!" Ember yelled as she ran, the others following her.

In no time they reached the school, where John closed the front door and then ran over to grab a bell and start ringing it.

"What are you doing?" Martha asked.

"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together." John explained as he kept ringing the bell. "Take arms! Take arms!"

"You can't do that!"

"You want me to fight, don't you? Take arms! Take arms!"

One of the other students appeared, confused by the sudden alarm. "I say sir, what's the matter?"

"Enemy at the door, Hutchinson. Enemy at the door. Take arms!"

Martha, Ember and Redfern looked on anxiously as the boys were gathered and then handed guns.

"You can't do this, Doctor." Martha tried to argue. "Mister Smith!"

John ignored her. "Redfern, maintain position over the stable yard. Faster now. That's it."

"They're just boys. You can't ask them to fight. They don't stand a chance!"

"They're cadets, Miss Jones." John finally addressed her. "They are trained to defend the King and all his citizens and properties."

Ember was about to step in when the headmaster of the school appeared. "What in thunder's name is this? Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain very simply and immediately exactly what is going on?"

John stepped forward. "Headmaster, I have to report the school is under attack."

"Really? Is that so? Perhaps you and I should have a word in private."

"No, I promise you, sir. I was in the village with Matron. It's Baines, sir. Jeremy Baines and Mister Clark from Oakham Farm. They've gone mad, sir. They've got guns. They've already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen."

The headmaster looked at Redfern. "Matron, is that so?"

"I'm afraid it's true, sir."

"Murder on our own soil?"

"I saw it. Yes."

"Perhaps you did well then, Mister Smith. What makes you think the danger's coming here?"

John faltered. "Well, sir, they said-"

"Baines threatened Mister Smith, sir." Redfern cut in. "Said he'd follow him. We don't know why."

"Very well. You boys, remain on guard. Mister Snell, telephone for the police. Mister Philips, with me. We shall investigate."

Martha's eyes widened. "No! But it's not safe out there!"

"Mister Smith, it seems your favourite servant is giving me advice. You will control her, sir."

Ember put her hand on the door before the man could open it, meeting his gaze firmly. "If you go out there, people will die."

The headmaster stared at her scar before he collected himself. "Whoever you are, Miss, when this matter is sorted out I will have you arrested for trespassing."

He pulled the door open, ignoring the glare Ember was sending him as he and Mr Phillips stepped out.

"We've got to find that watch." Martha said.

"Go. I'll keep an eye out here," Ember said. She knew fully well that the watch would not be found, as she'd instructed Latimer to keep away from everyone until the time was right.

Martha took off for the stairs, Redfern following shortly after. John looked at Ember for a long moment before he followed her gaze out of the window to see what was going on.

They watched as there was talking for several minutes before Baines pulled his gun and vaporised Phillips on the spot. The headmaster stumbled back and then retreated as Baines shouted after him.

"Run along, Headmaster. Run back to school. And send us Mister Smith!"

Ember opened the door once the man was close enough, closing it behind him and then turning to glare at the man. "What did I say? Oh yes, people would die! Believe me now?"

The headmaster took a moment to stare her before he turned to John. "Mister Philips has been murdered, Mister Smith. Can you tell me why?"

"Honestly, sir, I have no idea. And the telephone line's been disconnected. We are on our own."

"If we have to make a fight of it, then make a fight we shall. Hutchinson, we'll build a barricade within the courtyards. Fortify the entrances, build our defences. Gentlemen, in the name of the King, we shall stand against them."

"Yes, sir!" The boys said before they got to work, setting up defences and preparing their weapons for battle.

At that moment, Redfern returned, though she'd changed into her nurse uniform. John was giving out orders when he spotted her. "Joan, it's not safe."

"I'm doing my duty, just as much as you." She said firmly. "Fine evening we've had together."

"Not quite as planned."

Redfern looked at him for a moment. "Tell me about Nottingham."

"Sorry?"

"That's where you were brought up. Tell me about it."

John looked puzzled, but answered. "Well, it lies on the River Leen, its southern boundary following the course of the River Trent which flows from Stoke to the Humber."

"That sounds like an encyclopaedia. Where did you live?"

"Broadmoor Street. Adjacent to Hotley Terrace in the district of Radford Parade."

"But more than facts. When you were a child, where did you play? All those secret little places, the dens and hideaways that only a child knows? Tell me, John. Please tell me."

John looked hurt. "How can you think that I'm not real? When I almost... was that a lie?"

"No, it wasn't. No."

"But this Doctor sounds like some, some romantic lost prince. Would you rather that? Am I not enough?"

"No, that's not true. Never."

John saw that they were almost ready to fight. "I've got to go."

"Martha was right about one thing, though." Redfern pointed out. "Those boys, they're children. John Smith wouldn't want them to fight, never mind the Doctor. The John Smith I was getting to know, he knows it's wrong, doesn't he?"

"Mister Smith, if you please!" The headmaster called.

"...What choice do I have?"

"There is always a choice," Ember murmured, not realising that she'd spoken loud enough for them to hear her.

"What?" John asked.

Ember looked at them, surprised that they'd heard her, and then sighed as she turned her gaze back to the window. "An old and kind man once said that there is always a choice. Sometimes it just isn't possible to get it right, but that doesn't justify violence and war."

"So, what do you expect me to do?"

"I don't _expect_ you to do anything," Ember looked over her shoulder at him. "I'm trusting you to know what's in your own heart. Just like you did when you threw that cricket ball."

John looked confused, but then he turned and headed out into the courtyard, taking a rifle and standing with the boys and the headmaster.

"Stand to!" The headmaster yelled as scarecrows hammered at the main gate, which had been barricaded. "At post!"

"Enemy approaching, sir." One of the boys called as they took aim.

"Steady. Find the biting point." The main gates finally burst open. "Fire!"

The air was alive with gunshots as the boys opened fire and shot the scarecrows. John bit his lip, raising his gun, but Ember's words came back to him and he shook, looking around at the boys - the children - crying as they fired at the opposition.

He couldn't find it in him, so he lowered his gun. No one noticed that he hadn't fired once, and soon the scarecrows were nothing but pieces of clothing with straw sticking out of them.

"Cease fire!" The headmaster yelled, waiting until there was no more gunfire before he stepped out into the battlefield, kicking a scarecrow leg and finding nothing but straw. "They're straw. Like he said, straw."

"Then no one's dead, sir?" Hutchinson said, surprised and relieved. "We killed no one?"

The headmaster was about to reply when he heard footsteps on the gravel. "Stand to!" He pointed his gun, but was surprised when the little girl with the red balloon appeared, walking toward them, and he lowered his weapon. "You, child. Come out of the way. Come into the school. You don't know who's out there. It's the Cartwright girl, isn't it? Come here. Come to me."

Martha, who'd returned from upstairs after failing to find the watch, opened the front door and ran out. "Mister Rocastle! Please, don't go near her!"

"You were told to be quiet." The headmaster glared at her.

"Just listen to me. She's part of it." Martha saw Redfern come out. "Matron, tell him!"

The nurse looked uncertain. "I think that... I don't know. I think you should stay back, Headmaster."

The headmaster looked at John, who'd come closer with Ember in tow. "Mister Smith?"

"She was... she was with... with Baines in the village."

"Mister Smith, I've seen many strange sights this night, but there is no cause on God's Earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, sir." The headmaster gave them all a dark look before he turned to the girl. "Come with me."

The girl smiled. "You're funny."

"That's right. Now take my hand."

"So funny." The girl pulled an alien gun from behind her back and pointed it at the headmaster.

But before she could kill him, flames suddenly erupted between them, forcing the girl to back away and the headmaster to fall right onto his backside.

John and Martha looked at Ember, who had her hand out. Her pupils were so small they were almost invisible in the liquid silver.

"I tried to warn you," she said to the headmaster before she looked at the girl. "And now I'm warning you, just this once. If you don't leave this place, you will live to regret it. Time Lord or human, this man is under my protection, and I want you to be aware that he's the only reason I haven't burnt you and your family to the ground."

The girl looked shaken, but tried to play it off. "So you won't kill me. Now who's going to shoot me?" She looked at the boys. "Any of you, really?"

John swallowed hard. "Put down your guns."

Hutchinson looked at him in puzzlement. "But sir..."

"I'll not see this happen. Not anymore. You will retreat in an orderly fashion back through the school. Mister Rocastle, lead the way."

"But-"

"I said, lead the way."

"Well, go on, then." Baines called, appearing from behind the gate and firing his gun into the air. "Run!"

Martha grabbed John by the arm. "Come on! Ember!"

The brunette moved so that she was standing between the humans and the aliens, her focus on keeping the flames high enough to prevent any more attacks. "Go. I'll catch up."

Reluctantly, the humans retreated, going back into the school.

Baines smirked. "Reanimate!"

The scarecrows started twitching, but Ember saw it. "The best thing about straw? It burns easy!"

She made a sweeping motion with her hand, and she felt the breeze she'd created on two levels as the flames spread out to engulf the scarecrows, reducing them to ashes in a matter of seconds. Ember flinched as her head throbbed; she was pushing it by doing that.

With one last flare of the flames, she turned and ran, using the chaos to escape. She caught sight of Latimer escaping as well, but didn't follow, knowing that the boy was safe now that the scarecrows were no longer an issue. She instead followed the path around the school grounds, finding Clark with the Tardis and a couple of scarecrows that remained.

"Doctor!" Clark yelled out into the night air. "Doctor! Come back, Doctor. Come home. Come and claim your prize!"

Baines stepped into view. "Out you come, Doctor. There's a good boy. Come to the Family."

"Time to end it now." Jenny added as she and the girl joined them. "Come out, Doctor. Come to us!"

Ember stayed low as she made her way around, and then she spotted John running away, with Redfern and Martha not far behind.

Martha saw her coming and looked relieved, though she saw the fine sheen of sweat on the brunette's forehead. "Are you alright?"

"Yea. Don't need to worry about the scarecrows anymore. They only have enough left to guard the Tardis."

Redfern looked around, recognising the area, and turned to a path. "This way. I think I know somewhere we can hide."

"We've got to keep going." John tried to insist.

"Just listen to me for once, John. Now, follow me."

Ember nodded. "She's right. We need to regroup."

The group ran down the path until they came across a small cottage.

"Oh, here we are. It should be empty." Redfern panted. "Oh, it's a long time since I've run that far."

"But who lives here?" Martha asked.

"If I'm right, no one." They entered the cottage, finding it dark and quiet. The table in the dining room was set up for supper, the food left uneaten. "Hello?" Redfern called, but got no answer. "No one home. We should be safe here."

Martha looked around. "Whose house is it, though?"

"The Cartwrights. That little girl at the school, she's Lucy Cartwright, or she's taken Lucy Cartwright's form. If she came home this afternoon and if the parents tried to stop their little girl, then... they were vanished." Redfern walked over to the stove and touched the teapot. "Stone cold. How easily I accept these ideas."

John paced for a moment before he spoke. "I must go to them, before anyone else dies."

Redfern looked surprised. "You can't. Martha, there must be something we can do!"

"Not without the watch."

"Which is on its way." Ember added, looking out of the window.

John looked at the two women. "You're this Doctor's companions. Can't you help? What exactly do you do for him? Why does he need you?"

"I can't say for Ember cuz it's complicated, but me?" Martha shrugged. "I guess it's because he gets lonely."

"And that's what you want me to become."

Ember rolled her eyes. "It's not that simple."

There was a knock at the door. The brunette moved to answer it when Redfern grabbed her arm. "What if it's them?"

"I'm not an expert, but I don't think scarecrows knock." Martha said, moving to the door herself. When she opened it, she blinked when she saw Latimer standing there.

"I brought you this." He said, holding out his hand. It was the watch they'd all been looking for.

Martha took the watch and let the boy in before she closed the door, and then she walked up to John and held the watch out to him. "Hold it."

John shook his head. "I won't."

"Please, just hold it."

"It told me to find you." Latimer said. "It wants to be held."

Redfern looked at him. "You've had this watch all this time? Why didn't you return it?"

"Because it was waiting. And because I was so scared... of the Doctor."

"Why?"

"Because I've seen him. He's... like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun."

"Stop it." John murmured.

"He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe-"

"Stop it! I said stop it."

"...And he's wonderful."

Everyone was surprised when Ember spoke at the same time as Latimer, the former's gaze back out of the window.

There was quiet for a moment before Redfern looked through her pocket to pull out a familiar book. "I've still got this. The journal."

"Those are just stories." John dismissed.

"Now we know that's not true. Perhaps there's something in here."

Suddenly there was a big flash and a loud bang from outside, and the whole cottage shook.

"What the hell?" Martha said as they ran to the windows to look. They could see fireballs falling to the Earth, striking the village.

"They're destroying the village." Redfern said.

"They want to flush him out, using their ship's armaments." Ember added. "The best way to do that? Level everything in sight."

John turned to Martha, holding out his hand. "The watch."

"John, don't..." Redfern began, but John didn't hear her, instead hearing the voices from the watch now that he held it.

_"Closer..."_

Latimer recognised the look. "Can you hear it?"

_"Closer..."_

John shook his head. "I think he's asleep. Waiting to awaken."

_"Little man..."_

"Why did he speak to me?" Latimer asked.

"Oh, low level telepathic field. You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing-" he cut himself off mid-ramble with a sharp intake of breath, looking scared now. "Is that how he talks?"

Martha smiled and nodded. "That's him. All you have to do is open it and he's back."

"You knew this all along and yet you watched while Nurse Redfern and I..." John trailed off, glancing at Redfern who was looking through the journal under the moonlight, and then at Ember, who was watching them with a neutral expression.

"I didn't know how to stop you." Martha said. "He gave me a list of things to watch out for, but that wasn't included."

"Falling in love? That didn't even occur to him?"

"No. And I think you know why."

"Then what sort of man is that? And now you two expect me to die?"

Ember raised a brow, repeating her earlier statement. "I'm not expecting you to do anything."

"It was always going to end, though!" Martha said. "The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan, and that's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said."

John frowned. "So your job was to execute me."

"No, her job was to look out for you, to make sure you didn't hurt someone or do something equally stupid." Ember corrected, shifting so that her back was against the wall. "On the other hand, Martha, you're telling a thinking, feeling person that his whole life was a fabrication. You have no idea how that feels."

"And you do?" John asked.

The answer was instant as well as surprising. "Yes. Once upon a time I was a normal human with a normal job and a normal life, and then one day I woke up and suddenly it was all a lie. Everything I thought I knew was a story, made up for a reason I still don't know. I was never given a choice."

John blinked. _There's always a choice._ That's what she'd said to him back at the school. For some reason, hearing her say that she hadn't been given one made something in his chest ache. "And if you had the choice? What would you have done?"

"I honestly can't answer that." Ember replied, holding his gaze to show to him that she meant it. "The memories of that life began to fade right from the start of this one, scattering like confetti on the wind even when I try to hold on to them. I barely remember anything from it now, not even enough to miss it. The worst part of it is that even without that fairytale, I know next to nothing of who I was before all of this. Consider yourself lucky: If you open that watch and wake up as a Time Lord, you'll know who you were before. All of your memories would be restored, and you'll keep the ones you made here."

John blinked again. "How do you know if I'd keep my memories?"

Ember tilted her head. "Let's just say I have intel."

Martha shook her head as another rumble came from outside. "People are dying out there. They need him and we need him." She looked at John again. "Because you've got no idea of what he's like. I've only just met him. It wasn't even that long ago. But he is everything. He and Ember are just everything to me."

Ember looked puzzled. Martha was supposed to say how she loved him, wasn't she?

Another explosion, this one louder.

"It's getting closer." Latimer said.

"I should have thought of it before." John suddenly had an idea. "I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am."

Martha looked shocked. "You can't do that!"

"If they want the Doctor, they can have him!"

"He'll never let you do it!"

"If they get what they want, then, then..."

Ember stepped forward. "Then you will be the executioner. Can you live with that? And it won't just be his blood on your hands. Matron? What will happen if they get the Time Lord?"

"...Then it all ends in destruction." Redfern said softly, but loud enough for them all to hear. "I never read to the end, but those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer, for war across the stars for every child."

"So many people will die. You don't want that on your conscience, do you?" Ember challenged. John looked away. "I didn't think so. Time Lord or human, you're the same man who would defend everyone with everything he had, even if he himself suffered for it. But if there was even a slight incling that you'd be willing to sacrifice someone I care about, I wouldn't let you do it."

"So what, you just want me to die instead?"

Ember growled, the sound surprising everyone at how feral it was. "Don't put words in my mouth. They made a mistake, thinking that you were just a disguise. They didn't expect you to think and feel for yourself. And I don't want your life on anyone's hand. No one should be in control of anyone's fate but their own, and that includes you. Now, this is a very difficult choice as it is, and the peer pressure does not help, so I'll make it easier."

In one swift, unexpected move, Ember snatched the watch out of John's hand, surprising everyone.

"Ember, what are you doing?" Martha asked.

The brunette didn't look at her, instead keeping her eyes locked with John's. "I'm going out there. I can't stop the family in the same way that he can, and I won't like how I'll have to do it, but if that's the only choice left than I will do it to protect this man, Time Lord or not. And when this is over, John Smith, I want you to have a good, long think about wether you open this watch or not, without the pressure of lives at stake. If you choose to open it, I will give it back to you. But if you want to stay the way you are and live out your life here, then I will take this watch and me and Martha will leave, and you'll never see us again."

John looked at her in shock, and quickly noticed that tears were welling up in those silver eyes he'd dreamed about for months. "Why would you do that for me? Don't you want him back?"

"With all my hearts." That reply made John and Redfern look at her in puzzlement, and she shrugged. "Yea, I'm a Time Lord too. Only partly, though, so I'm useless to them."

"How will you stop them?" Redfern asked.

Ember looked out of the window. "By burning their ship to the ground, with them in it. It'll be four more lives lost that I'll have to live with, but if it keeps you safe, then I will."

"There has to be another way!" Martha argued.

"... what choice do I have?"

Ember turned and quickly made her way out of the cottage, running down the road back toward the village. She didn't want them to see her cry.

Back in the cottage, Redfern took a breath and stood. "Martha, Timothy, would you leave us alone, please?"

The two silently left, going to wait outside. John took one look at Redfern and broke into tears, sobbing as the nurse hugged him.

They both knew what he had to do.

* * *

Ember had to stop by a tree and get her breath back, having let out her tears as she'd run. She thought about going back, but she couldn't: John Smith was his own person, and it wouldn't be right if she made him give up his human life.

Even if it broke her hearts to leave him behind.

She let her legs give out, leaving her on her knees as she sobbed and held the watch to her chest. She could feel the presence inside send warmth to her, and it only made her cry harder. Was this the end? Had she just made a major change to history? What would happen now?

So lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear someone approach her. She only became aware of their presence when they knelt beside her and drew her in for a hug. Opening her eyes, she looked up with slightly blurry vision and was surprised to find John holding her. "Wha...?"

"A wise woman once told me that there is always a choice," he said softly. He put his hand over hers, gently pulling it to him so he could turn it palm up and reveal the watch. "And I'm making mine. Give me the watch."

Ember was too shocked to stop him as he gently pried the watch from her fingers, blinking back tears. "I... but..."

"Just answer one question for me. Is he worth it?"

"I..." Ember saw that he wouldn't accept anything less than the truth. "... yes. He's worth everything."

"... then thank you for giving me a choice."

With one final nod, John opened the watch.

* * *

The next morning, Ember and Martha waited outside the Tardis, despite the rain lightly falling, until the Doctor came back from talking to Nurse Redfern. Ember explained to the other woman what the Doctor had done to stop the family and how they were punished, as well as the Doctor's decision to ask Redfern if she would join them on their travels.

The Doctor finally returned, alone. He was now back in his brown suit and tan trench coat. "Right then. Molto bene."

"How was she?" Martha asked.

"Time we moved on."

"If you want, I could go and-"

"Time we moved on."

Martha nodded, getting the hint that he didn't want to talk about it. "Ok, um... So here we are then."

"There we are, yes. And I never said. Thanks for looking after me. Both of you." The Doctor pulled them into a hug, which they returned.

"Doctor! Ember!" Latimer called as he ran up to them. "Martha!"

The Doctor turned to greet the boy. "Tim-Timothy-Timber!"

"I just wanted to say goodbye. And thank you. Because I've seen the future and I now know what must be done. It's coming, isn't it? The biggest war ever."

Martha bit her lip. "You don't have to fight."

"I think we do."

"But you could get hurt."

"Well, so could you, travelling around with him, but it's not going to stop you."

The Doctor took the fob watch out of his pocket and held it out to the boy. "Tim, I'd be honoured if you'd take this."

Latimer took the watch, and then frowned when it was silent. "I can't hear anything."

"No, it's just a watch now. But keep it with you, for good luck."

"You'll need it, remember?" Ember added, smiling. "Gotta know the time."

Martha moved and hugged the boy. "Look after yourself."

The two women went into the Tardis, and the Doctor paused at the door. "You'll like this bit."

Latimer could only watch in awe as the Tardis faded away before his eyes.

* * *

After a quick trip to a memorial service to see an elderly Latimer one last time, the Tardis was set to remain in the Time Vortex as the trio decided to rest after the trying events they'd been through.

Well, Martha had gone to rest. As for the Time Lords...

Ember had just taken a shower and changed into some black jeans and a red, sleeveless top, and was now sat at her desk in her room, holding the journal that John Smith had made, when a knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts. "Come in."

The door opened, and the Doctor carefully leaned his head in to look around before spotting her and stepping in fully, closing the door behind him. His trench coat wasn't with him, leaving him in his brown pinstriped suit and converse. In his hands was a cup of tea and a can of cola. "Thought you might be thirsty. Mind if I join you?"

"Sure," Ember put the journal to the side and turned in her chair to face him, taking the can and pulling the tab before taking a deep drink of the fizzy beverage. "How are you doing?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." The Doctor replied, moving to lean against the desk next to her. "I... I remember what happened. When I was John Smith."

Ember shrugged. "Like I said, you were the same person. I'm not surprised that you remember. Um, about... what I said... I, um..."

She trailed off, sipping her drink. The Doctor watched her for a few moments before he set down his cup and turned to face her properly, taking the can away as well. "Ember... I remember what you said, every word. And I want to thank you."

"...Pardon?"

"You saw me. Both of us. The same man. And you knew what to say to help. You were even willing to do something drastic, even though it was obvious that it was breaking your hearts, just to give me a choice." The Doctor moved a stray strand of hair away from Ember's face, making her blush as he then cupped her cheek.

"So... what made you come after me?"

The Doctor smiled. "I was afraid, but I was also touched that you were considering my feelings as a human. That you weren't just demanding that I open the watch. You were right; I didn't expect to start having feelings for someone else, but there couldn't have been anything. I had dreams, while I was human, mostly of a certain silver-eyed brunette who I happen to care about very much."

If those words didn't surprise her enough, his next action did. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. Like the one he'd given her after The Library, this was no quick peck, or a kiss of relief, or an accident; he was purposely kissing her, expertly coaxing her lips open so his tongue could dive in and explore her mouth, and she found herself responding without thinking.

Thank whatever god was out there for respiratory bypass, or she'd have passed out from lack of oxygen.

After another few moments, the Doctor pulled back, smirking as he felt her attempt to follow, before he moved to her neck, nipping at the skin just under her left ear and making her breath hitch. "Oh..."

"I was so worried about you," he murmured, his other hand going to her side. "I was scared. For a moment, I thought I was going to lose you..."

"I... I didn't mean to scare you..." she replied,

The Doctor nodded, running his hand up her side as he swallowed her gasp in another kiss before he spoke again. "Then let me show you how relieved I am that you're okay..."

* * *

Author's Note: I'm not including the actual act here. However, I do plan to put this scene and any other similar scenerios in a separate thing so that those of you who don't want to read details can carry on with this without worrying about seeing too much. The downside is that it's not quite ready yet, as it will be the first time I'm going to write something explicit, so please go easy on me if/when you read it.

This next bit has thoughts after and about the act, but not detailing anything explicit. This is why I had the rating up to maximum, just to be safe, so apologies in advance if it isn't as juicy as you want.

* * *

Ember woke slowly, sighing at the dull ache she had in various places on her body. She shifted to stretch, and felt a warm torso against her back as a hand that wasn't hers splayed over her stomach to draw her closer. She looked over her shoulder to find the Doctor, as naked as she was, asleep behind her, his breathing deep and even and his face relaxed in slumber.

With another sigh, the brunette settled against the pillow again, tucking her left arm under her head while her right hand rested on his over her stomach. She heard and felt him mumble against her shoulder and press closer to her in his sleep, making her smile softly.

She'd expected to feel like she'd used him or been used when she woke, but to her surprise, it didn't feel that way at all. They were both relieved that the other was okay, and they were both consenting adults.

At least, that's what she believed it to be from his point of view. She might have been in... developing feelings for the Time Lord, but it seemed to her that he simply needed a companion; someone that he could rely on to give him support and comfort when he needed it most, someone who wouldn't leave him. If that meant sharing a bed with him, she'd take it; it would be her guilty pleasure in exchange.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the Doctor softly moaning as he shifted again, his arm pulling her impossibly closer while he remained asleep. She felt his mind brush against hers and reciprocated, remembering the gesture during their activity. That was another indicator that made her feel less guilty; right in the middle of it, she'd felt him establish a mental connection between their minds. It was intense enough as it was - just a simple brushing of their minds together while in the throes of passion - but it was only the tip of the iceberg of what could be done with the connection. He'd given her a somewhat brief explanation, about how Time Lords could express their deepest feelings with telepathy while performing the physical act (though he also admitted that most Time Lords were rather stuck up and in the belief that the physical act was, to put it mildly, rather gross).

In the connection the two of them shared last night, it was a telepathic equivalent to kissing, yet it could go far deeper than what they'd done.

Her imagination wondered briefly what it would feel like if they took the telepathic connection further, though she was quick to push that thought away; she couldn't immerse herself in thoughts about something that wasn't going to happen; it was better if she just appreciated what he was willing to give her while she could. It was only a matter of time before he'd fall for River, after all. She'd be sad when it would end, but she wouldn't stand in the way of his happiness. He deserved that at least.

One thing puzzled her though. Once his shirt was off, she'd noticed something: there was a mark on his chest, on the skin between his collarbone and his left heart. It looked like a burn; a severe one that blackened the skin, but the edges were too precise, too clean, and the skin around it was untouched. The shape of the mark itself was odd too: it wasn't quite clear if it was a stylised, elegant letter f that was sideways or if it was a small wing, and it was 3cm wide: about the size of a British 2p coin. It definitely rang a bell, but when she'd asked the Doctor about it, he just smiled at her fondly and said "Spoilers."

The Doctor mumbled again, but this time she made out words. "... you're thinking too loud..."

"Sorry," she spoke aloud, rubbing his hand. She expected him to go back to sleep, but instead he shifted again, lifting his head to lazily nuzzle and kiss her shoulder. He was careful around the hickeys and marks he'd left on her skin. "You alright?"

"Oh, yes, very much so..." he replied. "You?"

Nodding, Ember stretched, letting a quiet moan escape her. "Pretty sure I'm gonna wobble when I get up."

"Then don't get up," the Time Lord nuzzled her shoulder again, his still-drowsy mind brushing hers again. "Stay here?"

"Don't see why not..." she began, but then she felt a familiar burning sensation. "Oh, no, not now!"

The Doctor was wide awake as soon as she was, sitting up and helping pull the sheet off of her so she could get off the bed as quickly as she could. She would have preferred her jacket, but she had no choice but to grab the nearest item of clothing she could reach before she jumped.

The Time Lord that was left behind blinked as he realised that all she'd managed to get hold of was his dress shirt, and he grinned as he shifted to lay against the pillows again.

* * *

Annnd there we have it! Sorry for those who wanted to see some juicy stuff, but I'll let you guys know when that seperate bit is posted so that you can enjoy.

Next Time: Ember contemplates as she and the Doctor meet a 'new' companion and deal with an enemy with strong influences. What's going to happen when Ember tries to take one for the team? Stay tuned!


	25. Chapter Twenty Five: Bells of Saint John

Ok, here's the next one. Let's see where Ember ended up nearly naked.

Warning: some swearing and mentions of sex.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Five: The Bells of Saint John

* * *

The moment Ember felt solid ground underneath her feet, the first thing she did was put on the Doctor's dress shirt that she'd managed to grab before she jumped, mentally berating herself about poor judgement and forgetting to keep her clothes nearby. The next time she slept with the Doctor, she was going to make sure she had something within easy reach.

That made her pause as she was buttoning the shirt up, realising what she'd just thought. The next time? Was there going to _be_ a next time? _Should_ there be? She knew that she was treading on potentially dangerous ground by allowing herself this guilty pleasure, but she couldn't deny that it felt good. And the Doctor clearly had nothing against it; she'd felt his honest want for her when they were mentally connected during the physical act.

"Ember?"

The brunette jumped at the sound of her name, finally taking in her surroundings. It looked to be a dark cavern, lit by flaming torches and candles strategically placed. There was an oak table and a bed, and a canvas on an easel facing away from her.

The owner of the voice was none other than the Eleventh Doctor, who was currently wearing a heavy, dark brown robe that monks used to wear in olden days, the hood partially up as though he'd been in the middle of pulling it on. He was looking at her with wide eyes and a light blush on his face. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah..." Ember said, absently trying to tug the shirt a bit lower over her legs. Since it was the Doctor's, it was a little big on her, but it still only reached her upper thigh and she could feel a draft quite easily. "Um, I was just... I mean, I was..."

The Doctor's soft chuckle made her look up, to find that he seemed to have collected himself and had approached her, smiling. "So this is where you went with my shirt. Have to say, you look quite... well, you look cute in that..."

Ember blushed, her hand going to pull the shirt down again. "W-well, it was either this or nothing at all, and I dunno where I'd end up, so..."

"I suppose," the Doctor said with a shrug before he noticed her shiver. He moved to untie his robe. "Here, this'll help..."

The brunette looked up as he opened his robe, not able to decide if she was relieved or disappointed that he was wearing clothes underneath, though it was only a simple tunic and pants. She expected him to remove the robe for her to wear, but she was surprised when he simply pulled her to him and closed the robe around them. The cloth thankfully was big enough for both of them, and she found herself relaxing in the warmth of the embrace. "T-thanks..."

"Not a problem." He backed them up a bit so he could sit on the stool next to the table, making her sit on his lap with a darker blush. He either didn't notice or chose not to comment, holding her close and putting his chin on her left shoulder while also brushing his mind against hers. "Do you know, this might help me think a bit better..."

Ember shook her head. "I doubt it, but I'll bite. Why do you need to think?"

The Doctor sighed, absently nuzzling the junction where her neck and shoulder met. If he noticed the resulting shiver, he didn't call her out on it. "A little bird told me I should find a quiet place and think for a while."

The brunette was about to reply when someone else cleared their throat. The Time Lords looked up, to find two monks at the entrance to the cavern. One was a young man while the one who'd made the sound was rather old. "Ahem. I'm sorry to intrude. I wasn't aware you had a... consort..."

Ember blushed even more red, if that were possible, while the Doctor lifted his head from her shoulder to address the man. "It's not what it looks like! We're not naked under here. Well, she's almost, but I'm dressed, and we weren't-oof!"

He got cut off by an elbow to the stomach, curtesy of the brunette who looked like all the blood had gone to her face.

The older monk didn't look fazed, or he was very good at hiding it. "I apologise, but the Bells of Saint John are ringing."

Bells of Saint John? Ember had to think for a moment before she remembered where she'd heard that name before.

"I'm going to need a horse." The Doctor said as he stood, making Ember stand with him. They made for an odd-looking pair, sharing one robe; it was like they had one body and two heads. "And a robe for my... lady friend."

Ember raised a brow at him, noticing that he'd faltered, but he didn't give her time to ask as he moved to leave the room, her having no choice but to follow if she wanted to keep the monks from seeing her current state of undress.

"I'm guessing the last adventure was with snowmen in Victorian times," she said as she finally got free of his robe, standing to one side while he made sure he had everything they needed for the travel. "And the Saint John he mentioned, is the Tardis?"

"Yes to both," The Doctor said, packing a small bag with water and some other items. "And when he said bells, did he mean the actual bells or the phone ringing?"

Ember met his gaze as he looked at her. "He meant a phone, though he obviously doesn't know that."

* * *

After returning with a horse and a smaller robe that fit Ember, the Time Lord were off with the younger monk, through the woods at night with only flaming torches to guide them. The Doctor, with Ember sat in front of him on the same horse, led the way until they stopped at a stone-built entrance to what seemed to be an underground cavern, guarded by another monk who let them pass. They could hear a phone ringing from inside even before they entered and found the Tardis parked in the far corner.

"That is not supposed to happen." The Doctor said as he approached, Ember by his side as he opened the little panel on the door and picked up the handset of the phone, holding it so that he and Ember could listen. "Hello?"

_"__Ah, hello!"_ Ember recognised the female voice on the other end instantly: Clara. _"I can't find the internet."_

The Doctor blinked, puzzled. "Sorry?"

_"It's gone, the internet. Can't find it anywhere. Where is it?"_

"The internet?"

_"Yes, the internet. Why don't I have the internet?"_

The Doctor looked around the cavern. "It's twelve oh seven."

_"I've got half past three. Am I phoning a different time zone?"_

"Yeah, you really sort of are."

_"Will it show up on the bill?"_

"Oh, I dread to think." The Doctor mused. "Listen, where did you get this number?"

_"The woman in the shop wrote it down. __It's a help line, isn't it?"_ Clara said. _"She said it's the best help line out there. __In the universe, she said."_

The Doctor looked at Ember, who shrugged. "What woman? Who was she?"

_"I don't know. The woman in the shop. So why isn't there internet? Shouldn't it sort of... be there?"_

"Look, listen, I'm not actually, this isn't..." the Doctor rolled his eyes in defeat. "You have clicked on the wifi button, haven't you?"

_"Hang on. Wifi..."_

"Click on the wifi, you'll see a list of names. You see one you recognise?"

"Don't click on any that you don't recognise," Ember added.

_"Nice to know I've got more than one helper here,"_ Clara said off handedly._ "__It's asking me for a password."_

The young monk looked puzzled. "Is it an evil spirit?"

"It's a woman." The Doctor replied, rolling his eyes again as the monk made a cross gesture over himself.

_"Hang on a__ mo."_ Clara spoke before she recited the words she'd been given to remember the password. _"Run you clever boy and firey girl and remember... one, two-"_

The Doctor caught the phrase and his eyes widened. "What did you say?!"

_"__Don't shout. Now you've made me type it wrong! It's thrown me out again. What do I do? How do I get back in?"_ Clara did not sound happy. _"__It's just a thing to remember the password; 'run you clever boy and firey girl and remember.'"_ There was a faint sound of a doorbell ringing in the background. _"Hang on."_

Ember took the phone from a surprised Doctor's hand and hung up. "That was us, at her door. Let's go."

The Doctor followed her as they entered the Tardis. "Was it her? Is it really Clara?"

"Yes, now let's go!"

After tracking the phone call back to its place and time of origin, the Tardis quickly landed them in modern day Earth. Before Ember could stop him, the Doctor ran out of the door, making her sigh and follow. She caught up with him as he began to ring the doorbell and knock on a front door repeatedly.

"Hello? Yes, I hear you. Yep. Uh huh!" They heard Clara's voice getting louder as she approached from the other side, until she opened the door. "Hello."

The Doctor was openly staring at her in disbelief. "Clara. Clara Oswald?"

"Hello."

"Clara Oswin Oswald?"

"Just Clara... Oswald. What was that middle one?"

"Do you remember me?"

"No. Should I? Who are you?"

"The Doctor. No? The Doctor?" He looked at a mirror that was hung in the hallway.

"Doctor who?"

"No, just the Doctor." He looked at the mirror again before he faced her. "Actually, sorry, could you just ask me that again?"

"Could I what?"

"Could you just ask me that question again?"

Clara looked at Ember, who mouthed 'please', and then at the Doctor again. "Doctor who?"

The Doctor smiled. "Okay, just once more?"

"Doctor who?"

"Ooo, yeah. Ooo." The Doctor did an odd little dance on the spot, though he stopped when Ember nudged him with her elbow. "Do you know, I never realised how much I enjoy hearing that said out loud. Thank you."

"Okay." Clara said, and then she shut the door in their faces.

"Hey, no, Clara, please!" The Doctor went back to the knocking, seeing that she remained near the door. "Clara, I need to talk to you! Listen. Please! Please, I just need to speak to you!"

There was a small crackle as the door intercom turned on, followed by Clara's voice. _"Why are you still here? Why are you here at all?"_

The Doctor looked at the tiny camera on the intercom. "Oi, you phoned me! You were looking for the internet."

_"That was you?"_

"Of course it was me!"

_"How did you get here so fast?"_

"I just happened to be in the neighbourhood, on my mobile phone." The Doctor gestured vaguely to the Tardis parked right next to the garden wall.

_"When you say mobile phone, why do you point at that blue box?"_

"Because it's a surprisingly accurate description."

_"Okay, we're finished now."_

"Oi, no, don't!" The intercom crackled again, signalling that it had been turned off. The Doctor turned to Ember and pouted. "Why doesn't she remember?"

"Because it's not her job to. It's yours." Ember looked at his robe. "Maybe if you weren't looking like a monk out of place..."

Grinning, the Doctor took her hand and ran back to the Tardis. As soon as the door closed behind them, he started pulling off the robes, leaving only the tunic and trousers on.

"Right. Don't be a monk. Monks are not cool." He was muttering to himself as he descended the steps and went to the compartments below the console, kneeling at one and opening it.

Ember followed, smiling when she saw him put on a fez as he threw clothes around. "Can you ever get dressed without throwing your whole wardrobe around? While you're at it, is there something for me to wear?"

"Ah, right here!" He threw over a pair of black converse that were tied together by the laces. "And your clothes should be in that cabinet there!"

Ember moved to the compartment he'd pointed at, opening it and blinking at the sight of familiar clothes folded neatly in a pile. "Hang on. I was wearing those when we... how did they get here?"

"The Tardis exists in all of time and space," The Doctor explained as he held up two coats, dropping the light brown one in favour of the dark purple one that reached the knees. "If you jump and leave something behind in one time, she'll just send it back or forward to where you've gone."

"Hm, that's good to know." Ember examined the pile of clothes, noticing that even her underwear was present. "Um, do you mind turning around?"

"Why? It's not like I haven't seen you naked before."

Ember felt the blush cross her face. "Yes, but... we were... doing things then..."

The Doctor, who by now was bare from the waist up, smirked at her. "We could be 'doing things' now."

"Ah, focus! Clara, remember?"

Nodding reluctantly, the Doctor turned to rummage through the compartment again. Ember took advantage of his distraction to slip on her underwear before she removed the robe and the shirt. She'd just bent over to grab her trousers when she heard him give an appreciative whistle, making her jump. "Oi!"

"Alright, alright," he grumbled, getting back to dressing himself, mumbling words under his breath.

In a matter of minutes, the two were fully dressed, the Doctor putting on his bow tie as Ember tied her shoelaces. With a grin, the Doctor led her back up to console level and out of the doors, and back to Clara's front door.

"Ah ha! Clara! Clara?" He called as he knocked again.

Her voice replied from the intercom. _"Hello?"_

"Ah, see? Look, it's us! De-monked! Sensible clothes. Can we come in now?"

_"I don't understand."_

"You just open the door."

_"I don't know..."_ Ember froze, suddenly remembering where they were.

"Of course you can!"

_"...__Where I am."_ That made the Doctor pause. _"I don't know where I am. Where am I? Please tell me where I am. I don't know where I am."_

Ember tugged his sleeve. "Trouble!"

The Doctor used his Sonic to quickly open the door, stopping when he saw Clara lying at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious.

_"I don't know where I am."_ Her voice was still heard despite her unconscious state. It came from higher up the steps, where a little girl was standing. The oddest thing about it wasn't that her head was facing the opposite way to her body, but the back of her head was concave and silver, like a spoon, and Clara's face could be seen on it. _"I don't know where I am!"_

The Doctor knelt by Clara's unconscious body, checking for a pulse. "Clara? Clara?"

_"I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am. I don't understand. I don't know where I am! I don't understand. I don't know where I am."_ The image of Clara on the spoon-head spoke, making him look up at her. _"Where am I? I don't know where I am."_

The Doctor pointed his Sonic at the girl, making it lose the image and reveal itself as a thin robot. "Walking base station. Walking wifi base station. Hoovering up data. Hoovering up people."

"Her laptop!" Ember said, kneeling beside Clara's body. "It got her through that! It's downloading her!"

The Doctor was quick to act, running up the stairs and coming back less than a minute later with a laptop. He sat on the floor beside Ember and Clara and opened the laptop, typing away at it rapidly. "Oh no, you don't."

Ember kept a check of Clara's breathing, making sure the body was still alive as the Doctor worked to save her mind.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no." He muttered as he worked. "Not this time, Clara, I promise."

The robot twitched and moved, sending a beam of light to Clara's head. She arched her back with a gasp and then coughed.

The Doctor moved to her side to shift her into the recovery position. "Okay. It's okay, it's okay. You're fine. You're back. Yes, you are. Oh yes, you are."

"Best send them a warning," Ember said, nodding her head to the laptop. "Let them know she's protected."

After the Doctor did just that, he and Ember carried Clara up the stairs and to her own bed, making sure she was comfortable. The Doctor poured water into a glass from a jug and put both on the bedside table, then came back with a mug that had flowers in it. Then he dashed off and came back with a plate and a packet of Jammy Dodgers, emptying the pack onto the plate before taking one for himself. Ember smirked at the bliss that crossed his face when he bit into it, shaking her head when he offered the rest of it to her.

Finishing the biscuit with a shrug, the Doctor looked around the room and spotted an old book - 101 Places To See. He picked it up and flipped through it to find that Clara had owned it since she was nine years old, the ages increasing and being crossed out until it reached 24. The Doctor was about to close the book when he found a pressed maple leaf in the front cover.

Ember shook her head again when she saw him tentively lick the leaf and pull a face. "Did you expect it to taste like maple syrup? What is it with you and this need to taste everything?"

"Didn't hear you complain when I did it to you," he shot back, smirking in triumph when her face promptly went red.

"S-shut up!" She couldn't meet his gaze, knowing that he was loving the effect he was having on her. She waved her hand at the leaf. "Put it back; it's important."

The Doctor put the leaf and the book back where he found them and opened the door for the brunette as they left the room. If he had an extra bit of swagger in his step, she chose not to point it out.

* * *

A short time later, night had fallen. The Doctor had set up a garden table just outside the Tardis, with a chair for him and Ember. He was working at Clara's laptop while a partially disassembled Spoonhead was lying nearby.

"You won't find them." The brunette said, sipping at a glass of lemonade. "Not yet, anyway."

The Doctor glanced at her. "Any hints?"

"The WiFi tried to take her, but it's the ones behind it that makes it do that. And keep your eyes on the sky."

The Doctor was about to ask what she meant when they heard a window opening above them. The attic window had opened and Clara stuck her head out of it to look at them. "Hello?"

"Hello!" He said as he stood up, turning to face her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm in bed."

"Yes."

"Don't remember going."

"No."

"What did I miss?"

"Oh, quite a lot, actually." The Doctor reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a notepad. "Angie called. She's going to stay over at Nina's. Apparently that's all completely fine and you shouldn't worry like you always do. For god's sake get off her back."

"She said those exact words, by the way," Ember added. "Oh, and I borrowed your shower. Kinda needed to freshen up." She left out exactly why she needed to have a quick shower and change her underwear, though the Doctor had no problem figuring it out, if his cheeky wink was an indication.

"Also, your dad phoned, mainly about the government. He seems very cross with them, I've got several pages on that. I said I'd look into it. I fixed that rattling noise in the washing machine, indexed the kitchen cupboards, optimised photosynthesis in the main flower bed and assembled a quadricycle."

The last bit made Clara frown in puzzlement. "Assembled a what?"

"I found a disassembled quadricycle in the garage."

"I don't think you did."

Ember sipped her lemonade again. "Told you so."

The Doctor blinked. "I invented the quadricycle. Ha!"

"What happened to me?" Clara asked.

"Don't you remember?"

"I was scared, really scared. Didn't know where I was."

"Do you know now?"

"Yes."

"Well then, you should go to sleep. Because you're safe now, I promise." The Doctor smiled at the confused woman. "Goodnight, Clara."

Clara slowly pulled herself back into the house, closing the window, only to open it again and look at the Time Lords. "Are you two guarding me?"

"Well, yes. Yes, we are."

"Are you seriously going to sit down there all night?"

"I promise we won't budge from this spot."

"Well then, I'll have to come to you."

"...Eh?"

Clara disappeared into the house, and the Doctor turned to look at Ember as the brunette spoke. "She wants to talk. I gotta warn you now: there is a connection between this Clara and the ones you've met before, but she doesn't know them."

"Are you sure?" He asked. At her nod, he sat down in thought. "Can you tell me anything else?"

"She's where it all began. Or will begin. Ugh, timelines are dodgy."

Before the Doctor could say anything, Clara appeared from the back door. She was carrying a chair and two mugs.

"I like your house." The Doctor said to her as she set up the chair and sat down.

"It isn't mine. I'm a friend of the family."

"But you look after the kids. Oh yes, you're a governess, aren't you, just like..."

Clara caught the slip as he trailed off. "Just like what?"

"Just like... I thought you probably would be." He finished lamely, looking to Ember for help but only getting a shrug.

"Are you going to explain what happened to me?" Clara asked.

"There's something in the wifi."

"Okay."

"This whole world is swimming in wifi. We're living in a wifi soup. Suppose something got inside it. Suppose there was something living in the wifi, harvesting human minds. Extracting them. Imagine that. Human souls trapped like flies in the world-wide web. Stuck forever, crying out for help."

"Isn't that basically Twitter?" Clara joked, but then saw him frown as he typed at her laptop. "What's that face for?"

"A computer can hack another computer. A living, sentient computer... maybe that could hack people. Edit them. Re-write them."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because a few hours ago you knew nothing about the internet, and you just made a joke about Twitter."

Clara blinked, realising that he was right. "Oh. Oh, that's weird. I know all about computers now in my head. Where did all that come from?"

"You were uploaded for a while. Wherever you were, you brought something extra back, which I very much doubt you'll be allowed to keep."

"You were clever, but had no computer skills," Ember added, putting her glass in the table and standing up. "They gave you the knowledge. And no, they won't let you keep it. We've got company, by the way."

The Doctor looked up at that, following the brunette's gaze across the street, where a seemingly normal man was standing still beside a lamp post, facing them. What set off alarm bells was that the man was too still, and was looking at them with no emotion at all. "You and us, inside that box, now."

Clara looked at him. "I'm sorry?"

"Look, just get inside."

"All three of us?"

"Oh, trust me. You'll understand once we're in there."

"I bet I will." Clara said, standing up with her tea still in her hand. "What is that box, anyway? Why have you got a box? Is it like a snogging booth?"

"Clara..." The Doctor paused. "A what?"

"Is that what you do, bring a booth? There is such a thing as too keen."

Ember saw the lights in the houses starting to come on. "Um, Clara, look."

Clara looked, to see the same thing. "What's going on? What's happening? Is the wifi switching on the lights?"

"No, people are switching on the lights." The Doctor corrected. "The wifi is switching on the people."

The man across the street moved then, but only his head, turning it in a complete 180 to show a curved, silver surface.

"What is that thing?" Clara asked.

"A walking base station. You saw one earlier."

"Nicknamed a Spoonhead," Ember added, nudging the disassembled one with her foot while not taking her eyes off the one across the street.

"I saw a little girl." Clara said.

"It must have taken an image from your subconscious, thrown it back at you." The Doctor explained. "Ah! Active camouflage. They could be everywhere."

"Doctor? Doctor." Clara noticed that the lights in the city behind the house were going out. "What's going on? Our lights are on and everyone else's off. Why?"

Ember looked up, trying to see the plane that she knew was coming. "They're going with the classic plan of 'if we can't have her, no one can'."

"Some planes have wifi." The Doctor added, looking up as well.

"I'm sorry?"

"We must be one hell of a target right now." Something with lights far above them was coming towards them. "You, me, Ember, box, right now."

He grabbed Clara's hand, pulling her with him into the Tardis with Ember close behind. The Doctor then ran to the console and made them take off as Clara looked around in shock.

"Yes, it's a spaceship." He said quickly. "Yes, it's bigger on the inside. No, I don't have time to talk about it."

"But, but, but..." Clara stammered, Ember putting a hand on her shoulder to help steady her. "But it's-"

"Shut up, please. Short hops are difficult."

"Bigger, on the inside! Actually bigger."

The Doctor set them down and ran to the doors. "Right, come on!"

"We're going to go back out there?!" Clara asked.

"We've moved. It's a spaceship. We flew away."

"Away from the plane?"

"Not exactly." He opened the door and pulled them out with him, right onto the main section on a plane that was on a downward trajectory.

Clara looked around in further shock, somehow still holding her mug. "How did we get here?"

"It's a ship! I told you! It's all very sciency!"

"We're on the plane that they're using to try to kill us!" Ember added.

"This is the plane? The actual plane?" Clara asked, following the Time Lords as they made their way to the front of the plane. She noticed that the passengers all seemed unconscious, or... "Are they all dead?"

A quick scan with his Sonic told the Doctor the answer. "Asleep. Switched off by the wifi. Never mind them!"

They reached the front of the plane, opening the door to the cockpit with his Sonic. The pilots were also unconscious, slumped in their seats and blissfully unaware of the peril they were in.

"What is going on? Is this real?" Clara asked, starting to panic. "Please, tell me what is happening!"

"I'm the Doctor. I'm an alien from outer space. I'm a thousand years old, I've got two hearts and I can't fly a plane! Can you?"

"No!"

"Oh, fine. Let's do it together!"

Ember moved to grab the co-pilot's controls while the Doctor took the pilot's, both of them pulling up on them. They let out cries, joined by Clara, and then whooped in joy as they just missed the rooftops and went back up into the air.

"Whoo!" The Doctor cheered. "Would a victory roll be too showy offy?"

"Yes!" Ember said, breathing a sigh as she let go of the control.

The pilots woke up, the main one looking at them in confusion. "What the hell's going on?"

"Well, I'm blocking your wifi so you're waking up, for a start." The Doctor sonicked the control panel before patting the pilot on the shoulder. "Tell you what, do you want to drive?"

He and Ember left the cockpit, but they had to come back for Clara since she hadn't moved. They got back to the Tardis and took off, leaving the plane to go on its way.

"Okay." Clara said after a while. She was miraculously still holding her mug, which she put on the console after she drained it. "When are you going to explain to me what the hell is going on?"

The Doctor looked at her, then at Ember. "Breakfast?"

"What? I ain't waiting till breakfast!" Clara exclaimed.

"It's a time machine. You never have to wait for breakfast."

When he landed them and opened the doors, Clara was surprised to find that they were now on the South Bank in London, right next to the river, and it was daylight.

Several people started clapping as the Doctor bowed and held out a fez upside down.

"Thank you, thank you! Yes, magic blue box." He said, allowing people to toss coins into the fez. "All donations gratefully accepted. Roll up, give us your dosh. Pennies, pounds, anything you've got." He handed the fez to Clara. "Keep collecting. We need enough for breakfast. Just popping back to the garage."

Clara blinked as he disappeared back into the Tardis. "Garage?"

"It has a garage, kitchen, swimming pool, you name it," Ember said, smiling gratefully as more people threw coins into the fez.

"So this is tomorrow, then." Clara asked, keeping her voice down. "Tomorrow's come early."

"No, it came at the usual time. We just took a short cut." The Doctor called from within the Tardis before he came out on a large motorbike with a sidecar. The crowd applauded again as Ember snapped her fingers to close the Tardis doors. "Thank you, thank you. Tomorrow, a camel!"

Ember rolled her eyes as she got on behind the Doctor. "I'd pay to see that."

The Doctor grinned at her as he emptied the collected coins into a pocket and put the fez on the nearest person. He waited until Clara had gotten in the sidecar and the ladies had put on their helmets before he drove off.

"If you've got a flying time machine, why are we on a motorbike?" Clara had to yell to be heard over the roar of the engine.

"I don't take the Tardis into battle." The Doctor called back.

"Because it's made of wood?"

"Because it's the most powerful ship in the universe and I don't want it falling into the wrong hands. Okay?"

"Imagine what something like that is capable of in the wrong hands!" Ember added, her arms around the Doctor's waist.

* * *

In almost no time at all, the trio reached a rooftop terrace cafe that overlooked St Paul's Cathedral and Tower 42. Clara and the Doctor had already finished their cappuccino drinks while Ember had a can of cola as they sat at a table on the balcony.

"So if we can travel anywhere in time and space, why did we travel to the morning?" Clara asked. "What's the point in that?"

The Doctor looked up from where he was working with Clara's laptop. "Whoever's after us spent the whole night looking for us. Are you tired?"

"Yes."

"Then imagine how they feel. They came the long way round." He looked at the screen. "They've got to be close. Definitely London, going by the signal distribution. I can hack the lowest level of their operating system but I can't establish a physical location. The security's too good."

Clara watched him for a moment before she spoke again. "Are you aliens? Both of you?"

"Yep," Ember finished her drink. "Though I spent god knows how long thinking I was human until I started travelling with him."

"Okay with that?" The Doctor added.

Clara nodded. "Oh, yeah. Think I'm fine."

"Oh, good."

"So, what happens if you do find them? What happens then?"

"I don't know. I can't tell the future, I just work there."

Clara blinked at him. "You don't have a plan?"

"Oh, you know what I always say about plans."

"What?"

"I don't have one."

"People always have plans."

"Yes. Yes, I suppose they do. So tell me, how long have you been looking after those kids?"

Clara was puzzled by the abrupt change in topic, but let it slide. "About a year, since their mum died."

"Okay. Why you?" The Doctor asked, gaining a raised brow in response. "Family friend, I get that, but there must have been others. Why did it have to be you? You don't really seem like a nanny."

Clara chose not to answer that, instead reaching out and taking the laptop. "Gimme."

The Doctor took it back. "Sorry. What?"

"You need to know where they physically are. Their exact location."

"Yes."

"I can do it." Clara said, grabbing the laptop again.

"Oi, hang on. I need that!"

"You've hacked the lower operating system, yeah? I'll have their physical location in under five minutes. Pop off and get us a coffee."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, refusing to let go of the laptop. "If I can't find them, you definitely can't."

"They uploaded me, remember? I've got computing stuff in my head."

"So do I."

"I have insane hacking skills."

"I'm from space and the future with two hearts and... twenty seven brains!"

Ember rolled her eyes this time. She gave him a sharp kick in the shin to make him let go with a yelp.

"And I can find them in under five minutes plus photographs." Clara said, pausing to look at the wincing Time Lord. "Twenty seven?"

"Okay, slight exaggeration." The Doctor sent a pout at Ember. "Why'd you kick me?"

Ember smiled coyly as she stood up. "Did I? I'm so sorry. Come on, I'll get you a pastry to apologise."

"Oi, you're asking for trouble, you," The Doctor mock threatened as he stood to follow her. He looked back at Clara. "You sure?"

"Coffee, go get. Five minutes, I promise." Clara waved him off without looking, already typing at the laptop.

"The security is absolute."

"It's never about the security, it's about the people." Her fingers were flying over the keyboard, though she noticed that he had stopped halfway to the door and was staring. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Sorry, no, it's nothing. It's just, you're a nanny. Isn't that a bit, well, Victorian?"

"Victorian?"

"You're young. Shouldn't you be doing, you know..." the Doctor did a weird disco dance. "... young things, with young people?"

"You mean like you, for instance?" Clara shot him an amused look. "Down, boy. You've already got a girl to flirt with."

"No. No..." the Doctor checked that Ember hadn't heard, thankful that she had already gone into the cafe ahead of him. "I didn't... Shut up."

He turned and jogged after the brunette, finding her already at the counter. She smiled and held out a pastry on a napkin for him as he reached her.

"Knew you'd want one. And I got two cappuccinos." She said, turning to the old man behind the counter. "And another can of cola, please."

"One moment, ma'am," the man said, his Italian accent heavy, as he turned to finish the hot drinks.

The Doctor grinned and took the pastry, about to bite into it when the man spoke again.

"You realise you haven't the slightest chance of saving your little friend." What alerted him was the fact that the accent was suddenly gone.

Ember narrowed her eyes. "Was wondering when you'd show up."

The Doctor looked at the brunette before facing the man again. "I'm sorry, what?"

"One moment, sir." The man said with his normal accent, seemingly none the wiser, and then he straightened and the accent vanished again. "I said, there's not the slightest chance of saving your little friend. And don't annoy the old man. He isn't, in fact, speaking."

"I'm speaking." One of the waitresses said, making them turn around. "Just using whatever's to hand." She held the Doctor's gaze as he walked up to her to look closely and carefully. "Oh, she's rather pretty, isn't she? Do you like her? I can make her like you, too, if you want."

There was a split-second flicker of blue light, and the waitress suddenly looked puzzled by the man staring at her so intently. "You all right, sir?"

"Er, yes. Yes." The Doctor said, taking a step back. "Fine."

"Check on Clara," Ember said to him. "I'll wait here." The Doctor ran out of the cafe, and the brunette turned to see that the waitress was now standing still and watching her carefully. "I wouldn't get comfortable. You got our attention, so now you're in trouble."

The waitress tilted her head slightly. "If that's the Doctor, you must be the Great Fire. My client warned me about you."

"Then you should have been told that I'm someone you don't want to fuck with," Ember shot back.

The Doctor ran back in at that moment, and the waitress looked at him. "Now I want you to take a look around. Go on, have a little stroll. And see how impossible your situation is. Go on, take a look. I do love showing off."

A flicker of blue light, and the waitress went on her way. A little girl stood from a table and turned to them. "Just let me show you what control of the wifi can do for you. Stop!"

Everyone in the coffee shop froze, blue lights flickering around their heads.

The Doctor looked around. "I saw what you can do last night."

"And clear." The girl and everyone else swiftly left the cafe. Ember nudged the Doctor and pointed to a flat screen tv, where a woman who should have been telling the news was now looking at them, blue lines of code scrolling down the screen, and then she spoke. _"We can hack anyone in the wifi once they've been exposed long enough."_

"So there's one of your walking base stations here, somewhere close."

_"There's always someone close. We've released thousands into the world. They home in on the wifi like rats sniffing cheese."_

"I don't know who you are or why you're doing this," The Doctor said, walking up to the tv, "but the people of this world will not be harmed. They will not be controlled. They will not be-"

_"The people of this world are in no danger whatsoever. My client requires a steady diet of living human minds. Healthy, free-range, human minds. He loves and cares for humanity. In fact, he can't get enough of it."_

"It's obscene. It's murder."

_"It's life. The farmer tends his flock like a loving parent. The abattoir is not a contradiction. No one loves cattle more than Burger King."_

Ember decided to walk out of the cafe, going back to Clara's side just as she found out where the culprits were. They were both looking at the Shard in the near distance when footsteps approached, and they turned to see the Doctor walking up to them - or rather, who Clara thought was the Doctor.

"I did it. I really did." She said. "I did it. I did it. I found them."

"You found them." The 'Doctor' said.

"The Shard. They're in the Shard. Floor sixty five."

"Floor sixty five."

Clara paused, seeing the 'Doctor' look at her blankly. "Are you listening to me, Doctor? I found them."

"I'm listening to you. You found them."

Now Clara realised the problem, and if that wasn't enough, the 'Doctor' stiffened, his head turning around in a complete 180 to reveal a concave back: it was a Spoonhead.

Ember moved to stand in front of Clara and the Spoonhead just before it sent a beam of light, hitting her instead of the intended target. She felt the pain of something trying to grab her mind and mentally dug her heels in with a cry.

Somewhere in her mind, something twitched.

* * *

In the Shard, Alexi and Miss Kizlet blinked as the computer began to upload Ember. It was already at 20% and raising quickly.

"Well," Kizlet mused. "Looks like we're going to take care of half the problem."

Alexi was just nodding when an alarm suddenly blared. The message _'Warning: Overload'_ began to flash on the screen. "What the...?" He typed to try to find the problem, and when he did, it was surprising. "Ma'am, she's overloading the system! It can't handle her!"

"That's impossible," Kizlet said, looking at the screen as the progress bar reached 50%. "No one is that strong!"

The screen fizzled for a second before it changed to show something else: it looked like a camera feed in a dark place that had a few flames dotted around, though no details could be seen. As they watched, something in the flickering shadows shifted and a low growl was heard. If one listened, it almost sounded like the words 'get out' were hissed through the growl, but no one could be certain.

The moving shadow suddenly lunged at the screen, the flames moving with it at the same time. Kizlet and Alexi jumped back as the screen fizzled again before the whole computer sparked violently and went dead, smoke quickly rising from it.

"What the hell was that?!" Alexi cried. He'd never seen anything like it.

Kizlet turned to the next terminal. "What's the status of the download?"

The man sat at the terminal typed quickly to bring it up on his screen, only to blink when the progress bar was shown to be rapidity declining now. "It's going back."

"Let it go," Kizlet said. "We lost one terminal already; we can't risk a total system overload. Just get Clara."

* * *

Back at the cafe, the Spoonhead Doctor twitched and sparked slightly before it stopped the beam.

Ember gasped as she was suddenly released, her head pounding painfully. It was enough to send her on her knees, clutching her head. It was similar to when Cassandra had tried to possess her, coupled with the feeling she'd had when she first used her powers, but she couldn't remember what had happened while she was being downloaded.

"Ember!" Clara called, about to get up to go to the brunette, but the Spoonhead made a noise that made her look up just as another beam of light shot at her. This time there was no stopping it, and she was quickly downloaded.

It was at that moment that the Doctor ran out of the cafe, where he found Clara's lifeless body and the Spoonhead. "Clara? Clara?"

_"Doctor? Doctor, help me! I, I don't know where I am! I don't understand!"_ Clara's voice came from the Spoonhead as its head rotated back to face the right way. He could see Clara on the reflected surface. _"Doctor, help me, please! I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am! I don't know where I am. Doctor, please! Please help me! Please help me! I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am!"_

The Doctor swiftly used his Sonic on the Spoonhead, disabling it, before looking at Ember, moving to her side to check on her. "What's wrong?"

Ember shook her head to clear it. The pain was already receding, so she was determined to ignore it. "I tried to stop it getting Clara. But they let me go, I dunno why. It was like Cassandra all over again..."

"You're too strong for them to download. Probably would have blown the whole system." The Doctor helped her to one of the chairs before looking at the Spoonhead again. "Can we get her back?"

"Yes, if you drop in on their headquarters, which is at the Shard." The brunette replied, motioning to the laptop. "But you don't have to go in person."

The Doctor grinned, using his Sonic to reprogram the Spoonhead. After several minutes, it then turned and walked off, and they had it connected to the laptop so they could see and hear everything the robot did as it went down to ground level and got on the bike, detaching the side car and putting on the helmet before taking off.

The robot stopped outside the Shard, and a man with a bag of chips turned to look at them. _"Really, Doctor. A motorbike? Hardly seems like you."_

"I rode this in the antigrav Olympics, 2074." The Doctor said, knowing that the Spoonhead would copy his speech. "I came last."

_"The building is in lock-down. I'm afraid you're not coming in."_

"Did you even hear the word antigrav?" The Doctor made the robot press a big red button on the fuel tank of the bike and then it was off with a roar, going right up to the Shard before it turned to face the sky and rode up the side of the building. The Doctor quickly counted the floors until they got to the one they wanted, where he let the robot use his Sonic to break a window and allow them into an office.

A few moments later, a middle-aged woman entered the office, seeing who she thought was the Doctor sat with his feet up on the desk, messing with the tablet he'd found. She didn't seem bothered at all. _"Do come in."_

"Download her." The Doctor said.

_"Sorry about the draft."_

"Download her back into her body right now."

_"I can't."_

"Yes, you can."

_"She's a fully integrated part of the data cloud, now. She can't be separated."_

"Then download the entire cloud. Everyone you've trapped in there."

_"You realise what would happen?"_

The robot stood up. "Yes, those with bodies to go home to would be free."

The woman shrugged, meeting them at the broken window. _"A tiny number. Most would simply die."_

"They'd be released from a living hell. It's the best you can do for them, so give the order."

Ember blinked. Somehow, that phrase seemed familiar, but not because she heard the Doctor say it. So where else had she heard it before?

The woman speaking made her shake off the thought._ "And why would I do that?"_

"Because I'm going to motivate you, any second now." The Doctor replied.

_"You ridiculous man."_ The woman chuckled. _"Why did you even come here? Whatever for? And you left your other friend alone. We can't download her, but that doesn't mean she's safe."_

"I didn't."

_"What?"_

"I'm still in the cafe, with Ember. I'm finishing my coffee. Lovely spot." The Doctor sipped his drink.

_"What are you talking about?"_

"You hack people, but me? I'm old-fashioned. I hack technology. Here's your motivation."

With the press of a few buttons, the robot took off the helmet and turned its head around, grabbing the woman's mind like it had Clara's, despite her cries. It then turned its head back round and picked up a tablet that was in the desk, looking at it so they could see the profiles of the other staff members. The Doctor quickly found the highest authority and upped his obedience to the maximum so that he would obey the woman's demands to be downloaded, thus letting everyone out of the data cloud.

With a flourish, the Doctor instructed the robot to come back, and then stood up. Ember, who'd been checking Clara, nodded as the unconscious woman breathed deep. The Time Lords then left the cafe together, going back down to meet the robot and get on the bike to go back to the Tardis.

"Doctor, why couldn't they get my mind?" Ember asked as they entered the blue box. "Something happened, but I can't remember."

The Doctor looked at her. "I can check to see if they did something to you."

Ember tilted her head. "You can try."

Nodding, the Doctor gently took her face in his hands, pressing his fingers against her temples, before closing his eyes and entering her mind. It didn't take long to check her defences, and was happy that there didn't seem to be any damage, but there was also no sign of why she couldn't remember what had happened.

He was about to leave when he felt it: that presence of raising strength that often came up when under threat. He mentally turned to it as it drew nearer. "Ah... so it was you..."

The presence washed over him without hesitation, feeling like it was looking into his soul, only to withdraw a few seconds later with a sound that might have been a purr. Seemingly satisfied with him, the presence withdrew, an unspoken request to leave in the form of a mental nudge.

The Doctor obeyed, gently pulling himself from Ember's mind and opening his eyes. The brunette did the same, blinking up at him as he smiled fondly at her. "You're fine. No damage."

"That's good," Ember nodded. She'd felt his presence in her mind and how it had reacted, checking him for a possible threat. What surprised her was that he hadn't been thrown out like before, but that might have been because he wasn't trying to look at her memories directly. She saw him step closer to her and bit her lip. "What are you doing?"

"Hmm?" The Doctor tilted his head. "Well, I thought, since we're here..."

Ember blinked, and then blushed when she realised what he was asking. She hadn't expected that. "Really? Now?"

"Why not?"

"Well... I thought..." Ember looked away. "It's different now. Back then... you didn't know River. I... I know what we have couldn't be anything more than... that..."

The Doctor sighed, glancing at where he'd taken her hands. "Ah. I see." He looked thoughtful for a moment before he tried to meet her gaze, to which she was trying not to. "Ember, look at me, please."

Ember hesitated before meeting his gaze. She was surprised to see that he didn't seem mad, or even disappointed; he looked understanding. "Look, I'm not upset. I know that you married River. I accepted that this wasn't going to last. We were consenting adults that needed relief..."

"Oh, Ember..." The Doctor murmured, smiling fondly at her again. "Do you think that I would do that to you if it was just lust?" He moved closer. "I understand your worries, and I can't tell you what the future holds for you, but I can tell you that what we have... no one, not even River, had a problem with it. Don't forget, River flirts with you just as much as me: it would probably be her birthday wish to have us both."

Ember blushed again. "So she's okay with me sleeping with her husband?"

"She's fine with us being together in any sense; in fact, she encourages it." The Doctor said, choosing his words carefully. "I wouldn't lie to you about something like this, but you can ask her next time you see her, if you want. In the meantime, I won't push you."

Ember smiled at him, making his hearts lift in relief. "Thanks. I'm not sure how I could deal with this otherwise." She reluctantly let go of his hands. "Just give me a bit to go over it in my head. But as long as no one gets hurt, I... wouldn't mind having the company again."

She turned to go to the console, missing it when the Doctor did a fist pump and a little dance before he joined her.

* * *

A short time later, after an attempt to investigate the workings of the Shard and coming up empty due to all the employees suddenly getting amnesia, they landed back at the home of the Maitlands, and only waited a few minutes until there was a knock at the door. Ember looked up from where she was sat on one of the seats.

"Come in," the Doctor called from where he was sat with a book at the top of the steps, knowing who it was. Sure enough, the door opened and Clara walked in.

"So, they come back, do they?" She asked.

The Doctor smiled. "You didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

"You don't seem like a nanny."

Clara hesitated. "I was going to travel. I came to stay for a week before I left, and during that week..."

"She died, so you're returning the favour." The Doctor said. "You've got a hundred and one places to see, and you haven't been to any of them, have you? That's why you keep the book."

"I keep the book because I'm still going."

"But you don't run out on the people you care about. Wish I was more like that." The Doctor sighed before he stood and walked down the steps to reach the girl. "You know, the thing about a time machine, you can run away all you like and still be home in time for tea, so what do you say? Anywhere. All of time and space, right outside those doors."

Ember smirked from where she was sat on the seat at the other side of the console.

Clara looked at him evenly. "Does this work?"

The Doctor paused. "...Eh?"

"Is this actually what you do? Do you just crook your finger and people just jump in your snog box and fly away?"

"It is not a snog box."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Starting when?"

Clara looked at Ember, who smiled knowingly, before she met the Doctor's gaze again. "Come back tomorrow. Ask me again."

"Why?"

"Because tomorrow, I might say yes. Sometime after seven okay for you?"

"It's a time machine. Any time's okay."

"See you then." Clara was heading back to the door when the Doctor called her back.

"Clara? In your book there was a leaf. Why?"

Clara smiled, opening the door. "That wasn't a leaf. That was page one."

With that, she left, closing the door behind her. The Doctor turned to the console.

"Right then, Clara Oswald." He murmured. "Time to find out who you are."

Ember smiled. "Believe me, it'll be worth the effort."

* * *

Aaaand there we go! Clara meets the Time Lords, Ember's subconscious mind protects her once again, and she and the Doctor seem to have reached a new stage in their relationship. So why is River okay with their arrangement? Why would the Doctor sleep with Ember if it wasn't just about lust? You'll have to stick around to find out!

Question: I'm tempted to throw in one or two of the books that have come out over the years with the Doctor's adventures. What do you think? Do I put a few of those in or just stick with the tv episodes?

We're about 3 episodes from the end of this part in the saga. Before that, though, we've got two major reveals.

Next Time: A big threat is coming, in an impossible situation. Can Ember face the biggest demon in the universe? Stay tuned!


	26. Chapter TwentySix: The Impossible Planet

Sorry for the delay: personal stuff happening and the beginnings of some kind of illness.

But here's a big one! Another two-parter! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Twenty Six: The Impossible Planet

* * *

It was two days before Ember jumped again, which she was a little unhappy about. She and the Doctor had been simply hanging out in the Tardis, taking advantage of the rare moment of peace that come over them. During that time, the Doctor had been courteous, giving her the space she needed to think about their relationship.

It didn't keep him from getting in the occasional snog from her, though she didn't resist: she found that she wasn't feeling as guilty about it after their conversation.

They'd been watching a movie, cuddled together under a blanket on the large, comfy sofa, when she'd felt the burning sensation. The Doctor was able to sneak in a last kiss before she left.

Ember looked around the room she'd ended up in as she pulled on her jacket. It was similar to a construction site cafeteria, with railings and a couple of tables and a door on three of the four walls. It also sounded like a storm or hurricane was happening outside, shaking the roof with its intensity.

But it wasn't the only thing shaking. The brunette could feel the floor vibrating under her feet, on which she only had socks since she'd taken off her boots so that she could put her feet on the sofa. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a white top before she jumped, and she was lucky to grab her jacket this time too.

Ember knelt on one knee and pressed her hands on the floor, closing her eyes and concentrating. The vibrations weren't natural; she could tell that right off the bat now, but it was also rythmatic, which reminded her of the drill that nearly attacked the Silurians.

_"Open door 17."_

Ember turned at the monotoned female voice as a door opened behind her, though she breathed a sigh of relief when the Tenth Doctor and Rose stepped through it.

"Oh, it's a sanctuary base!" The Doctor said before he spotted her. "Ember!"

_"Close door 17."_

Ember smiled at them. "Hey, guys. Um, you wouldn't happen to have a spare pair of shoes, would you?"

"Ah, now it just so happens that I do!" The Doctor rummaged through his bigger-on-the-inside pockets for a few moments before he pulled out a pair of black converse. "And even a spare change of clothes if you need them! You asked me to have them, so I guess you can thank yourself."

Ember nodded, grabbing the shoes and taking a seat in one of the chairs to put them on. "I'll just take the shoes for now. Sorry, I interrupted the dialogue. You were saying about this place?"

The Doctor took the hint and focused on the room they were in. "Deep Space exploration, I reckon. We've gone way out. And listen to that, underneath. Someone's drilling."

"I noticed that."

That was when the Doctor looked at her again. "Where abouts are you right now?"

"Not long since I started to be able to control wind, but I'm still working on using any of the primary four in combinations. It kinda hurts."

"Welcome to hell." Rose murmured, facing the far wall.

"Oh, it's not that bad..." The Doctor began.

"No, over there." Rose laughed as she pointed to the wall, where the words she'd said were painted on the wall in big block letters, and a vertical alien script underneath.

The Doctor walked over to the wall, confused. "Hold on, what does that say? That's weird, it won't translate."

Ember tilted her head at the alien script. Was it just her, or... did it look like those symbols were in the wrong order...?

"But I thought the Tardis translated everything, writing as well." Rose said. "We should see English."

"Exactly. If that's not working, then it means this writing is old. Very old. Impossibly old. We should find out who's in charge." The Doctor walked over to a door opposite the one they'd entered through, spinning the wheel. "We've gone beyond the reach of the Tardis' knowledge. Not a good move. And if someone's lucky enough-"

_"Open door 19."_

The Doctor was interrupted not just by the computerised voice, but by the sight of several Ood that were on the other side of the door. "Oh! Right. Hello. Sorry. I was just saying, er... nice base."

"We must feed." The Ood said together.

"You've gotta what?"

"We must feed."

Rose stepped back. "Yeah. I think they mean us."

"We must feed. We must feed. We must feed." The Ood kept repeating as they moved into the room, forcing Rose and the Doctor to back up. The other doors opened and let more Ood in. "We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed."

Rose picked up the nearest thing she could find, that being a chair. The Doctor held out his Sonic while he tried to grab Ember to pull her with him.

Now clad in the converse, Ember easily stepped out of his reach, facing the Ood. "Um, technical issue. You're not getting all your words out."

"We must feed..." the Ood at the front of the group shook his translator ball and tapped it before it spoke alone. "You. If you are hungry."

The Doctor paused. "Sorry?"

"We apologise. Electromagnetics have interfered with speech systems. Would you like some refreshment?"

"Um-"

_"Open door 18."_

The trio looked as three humans came through the opened door, looking at them in shock. The man at the front, mid-forties and wearing a security uniform, moved closer, the Ood making a path for him.

"What the hell? How did...?" He lifted his wrist to speak into his watch, not taking his eyes off them. "Captain, you're not going to believe this. We've got people. Out of nowhere. I mean, real people. I mean, three... living people, just standing here right in front of me."

_"Don't be stupid, Jefferson,"_ a male voice came back. _"That's impossible."_

"I suggest telling them that."

Rose raised a brow. "But you're a sort of space base. You must have visitors now and then. It can't be that impossible."

Jefferson looked at her. "You're telling me you don't know where you are?"

"No idea." The Doctor grinned. "More fun that way."

Ember shook her head. She knew where they were now. And she had a bad feeling about it.

_"Stand by, everyone. Buckle down."_ A woman's voice came over the tannoy, alive instead of the computerised one._ "We have incoming. And it's a big one. Quake point five on its way."_

Jefferson immediately ran to the nearest door. "Through here, now. Quickly, come on! Move!" Things started to bang and shake around them as he got the door open and ushered them through it. "Move it! Come on! Keep moving. Come on! Quickly! Move it!"

The group ran down a corridor and soon made it to what looked like a control room. Several other people were there already, working at panels.

"Oh, my God." The black man at the central console breathed. "You meant it."

"People!" A young woman with curly hair gaped. It was her voice they'd heard on the tannoy. "Look at that, real people!"

"That's us. Hooray!" The Doctor said.

"Yeah, definitely real. My name's Rose. Rose Tyler. And this is the Doctor, and Ember."

A young, tanned skinned man moved over to them. "Come on, the oxygen must be offline. We're hallucinating. They can't be..." he reached out and poked Ember. "No, they're real... Ow!"

Ember glared at him, having slapped his hand away when he kept poking her. "Hands off, buddy."

The black man rolled his eyes. "Come on, we're in the middle of an alert! Danny, strap up. The quake's coming in! Impact in thirty seconds! Sorry you three, whoever you are. Just hold on tight."

"Hold on to what?" Rose asked.

"Anything. I don't care. Just hold on. Ood, are we fixed?"

The Ood standing next to him inclined his head. "Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated."

"What's this planet called, anyway?" The Doctor called as he gripped the railing next to Ember.

"Now, don't be stupid. It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?" The older woman said, only for the Doctor to raise his brow at her. "You really don't know, do you?"

Before she got an answer, the black man cut in. "And impact!"

The whole place shook for several seconds, then stopped. The Doctor released his hold on the railing.

"Oh, well, that wasn't so bad-" he was cut off mid-sentence as Ember yanked him back by his jacket just before the place shook again, much more violently. The consoles burst into flames and sparks, but it all settled soon after.

"Okay, that's it." The black man said after a moment. "Everyone all right? Speak to me, Ida."

The older woman replied. "Yeah, yeah!"

"Danny?"

"Fine." The younger man replied.

"Toby?"

A young, white man answered. "Yeah, fine."

"Scooti?"

"No damage." The younger woman.

"Jefferson?"

The security guy called back. "Check!"

The Doctor glanced around, checking Rose and Ember, before adding sassily, "We're fine, thanks, fine. Yeah, don't worry about us."

"The surface caved in." The black man said, pulling up a schematic of the base and ignoring the sass. "I deflected it onto storage five through eight. We've lost them completely. Toby, go and check the rocket link."

"That's not my department."

"Just do as I say, yeah?"

Ida checked her panel as Toby left the room. "Oxygen holding. Internal gravity fifty six point six. We should be okay."

Rose looked at the ceiling, hearing the racket above. "Never mind the earthquake, that's... that's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?"

"Not a hurricane." Ember muttered.

Scooti looked at Rose. "You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane. There's no air out there. It's a complete vacuum."

"Then what's shaking the roof?"

"You're not joking. You really don't know." Ida said. "Well introductions. F Y I, as they said in the olden days. I'm Ida Scott, science officer. Zachary Cross Flane, acting Captain, sir. You've met Mister Jefferson, he's Head of Security. Danny Bartock, Ethics committee."

"Not as boring as it sounds." Danny added.

"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed, Archaeology, and this is Scooti Manista, Trainee maintenance. And this? This is home."

Ida pulled a lever as Zach looked at the new arrivals. "Brace yourselves. The sight of it sends some people mad."

"What if you're already mad?" Ember whispered to the Doctor, who grinned and pulled her in for a one-armed hug.

The shutters overhead pulled back to reveal a white hot, angry disc with a black centre and black dots falling into it. All humour disappeared at the sight.

"That's a black hole." Rose said.

The Doctor couldn't take his eyes off it. "But that's impossible."

"I did warn you." Zach said.

"We're standing under a black hole."

Ida nodded. "In orbit."

"But we can't be..."

"You can see for yourself. We're in orbit."

"But we can't be!"

"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in. Discuss."

Rose looked between her and the Doctor, who'd tightened his hold on Ember without realising it. "And that's bad, yeah?"

"Bad doesn't cover it." The Doctor said. "A black hole's a dead star. It collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter's so dense and tight it starts to pull everything else in too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity, time... Everything just gets pulled inside and crushed."

"So, they can't be in orbit. We should be pulled right in."

"We should be dead."

"And yet here we are, beyond the laws of physics." Ida said, a smirk on her face. "Welcome on board."

Rose looked at the black hole, noticing specks of light or colours swirling towards it like water to a plug hole. "But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?"

"Stars breaking up. Gas clouds. We have whole solar systems being ripped apart above our heads, before falling into that thing."

"So, a bit worse than a storm, then."

"Just a bit,"

"Just a bit, yeah."

The place shook again, nowhere near as bad as before, but enough to let the information sink in.

The place shook again as the Doctor leaned his head towards Ember without looking away from the black hole, as though to do so would condemn them. "How bad is it?"

"In your words?" Ember replied. "A whole extra suitcase of bad."

Toby came back into the room at that moment, the door being announced when it opened and closed. "The rocket link's fine."

Zach nodded, pulling up a hologram on the central console. "That's the black hole, officially designated K three seven Gen five."

"In the scriptures of the Falltino, this planet is called Kroptor, the bitter pill." Ida joined in. "And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon. It was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out, because it was poison."

"The bitter pill." Rose repeated. "I like that."

"We are so far out." The Doctor had pulled on his glasses. "Lost in the drifts of the universe. How did you even get here?"

"We flew in." Zach pulled up a new image, showing a funnel shape leading to the planet. "You see, this planet's generating a gravity field. We don't know how. We've no idea. But it's kept in constant balance against the black hole. And the field extends out there as a funnel. A distinct gravity funnel, reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

Rose smiled. "You flew down that thing? Like a rollercoaster."

"By rights, the ship should have been torn apart. We lost the Captain, which is what put me in charge."

Ida cut in gently. "You're doing a good job."

"Yeah, well, needs must."

Danny spoke up next. "But if that gravity funnel closes, there's no way out."

"We had fun speculating about that." Scooti added.

"Oh, yeah. That's the word." Danny said sarcastically, taping Scooti on the head with a rolled up sheet of paper. "Fun."

The Doctor was staring at the image intently. "But that field would take phenomenal amounts of power. I mean not just big, but off the scale! Can I...?"

"Sure." Ida said, sliding over what looked like a small calculator at his request. "Help yourself."

An Ood approached Rose, holding a plastic cup of drink. "Your refreshment."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks. Thank you..." The blonde replied, only to realise something. "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"We have no titles. We are as one."

Rose blinked at that, turning to nudge Danny. "Um, what are they called?"

"Oh, come on. Where have you been living?" He said. "Everyone's got one."

"Well, not me, so, what are they?"

"They're the Ood."

"The Ood?"

"The Ood."

"Well that's... ood."

Danny smiled at the play on words. "Very ood, but handy. They work the mine shafts. All the drilling and stuff. Supervision and maintenance. They're born for it. Basic slave race."

"You've got slaves?" Rose asked, shocked.

"Don't start." Scooti said. "She's like one of that lot. Friends of the Ood."

"Well maybe I am, yeah. Since when do humans need slaves?"

Danny looked perplexed. "But the Ood offer themselves. If you don't give them orders, they just pine away and die."

"Do they?" The three of them looked at Ember as she spoke, though her voice was flat and almost cold. "Do they really? They walked up to you one day and said 'hey, stick this plastic ball up my nose so I can be your servant forever', did they? You really think they did that?"

Rose shivered at the tone in Ember's voice. She definitely knew something they didn't. The blonde turned to the Ood again. "Seriously, you like being ordered about?"

"It is all we crave." It replied calmly.

"Why's that, then?"

"We have nothing else in life."

"Yeah, well, I used to think like that, a long time ago."

"There we go!" The Doctor suddenly spoke, seemingly oblivious to the conversation. "Do you see? To generate that gravity field, and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds."

Rose moved back to his side, Danny and Scooti following to listen, but Ember stayed. She took the chance and faced the Ood, her back to the group so they wouldn't hear her. "I know it hurts right now, and I don't know how much longer it'll be, but you will be free to sing again one day. Just hold on."

For a moment it looked like the Ood didn't know what she was talking about, but then it twitched and muttered quietly. "The circle..."

"Yes. The circle must be broken. And it will." Ember said, reaching out and taking the Ood's hand. "You just need to be patient. I'm the Great Fire, and I swear to you that your people will sing."

She felt the Ood squeeze her hand lightly before it let go, turning away to go about other tasks. Ember watched it for a moment more before she turned and rejoined the group.

"It's giving off readings of over ninety stats on the Blazon scale." Zach was saying.

Ida nodded. "It could revolutionise modern science."

"We could use it to fuel the Empire." Jefferson added.

"Or start a war." The Doctor countered, seemingly calm as he took off his glasses.

Toby spoke up, his eyes almost unfocused. "It's buried beneath us, in the darkness, waiting..."

"What's your job, chief dramatist?" Rose said.

"Well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomena. And this, uh, planet once supported life eons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk."

The Doctor looked at him. "I saw that lettering written on the wall. Did you do that?"

Toby nodded. "I copied it from fragments we found unearthed by the drilling, but I can't translate it."

"No, neither can I. And that's saying something."

Ember leaned forward slightly. "Out of curiousity, why did you add 'welcome to hell' on there?"

Toby shrugged. "Well, in theory, this is hell. Though it could be worse."

"Oh, Hell is very much worse than this place, I can assure you," Ember found herself saying almost without thought. "At least you're not alone in here. Remember that."

Toby, along with the rest of the crew, looked slightly nervous at that statement. The young man cleared his throat before changing the subject. "There was some form of civilisation. They buried something. Now it's reaching out, calling us in."

The Doctor, who'd taken Ember's hand when she spoke, looked at him. "And you came."

Ida shrugged. "Well, how could we not?"

"So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why? I'll tell you why. Because it was there. Brilliant." The Doctor grinned and turned to Zach. "Excuse me, uh, Zach, wasn't it?"

"That's me."

"Just stand there, because I'm going to hug you. Is that all right?"

Ember leaned over again, this time with a smile. "Please? I promise, he doesn't bite."

Zach looked puzzled at the request, but nodded. "I suppose so."

"Here we go. Coming in." The Doctor moved slowly at first, but then wrapped his arms around the captain in a hug. "Oh, human beings. You are amazing! Ha! Thank you."

Zach shook his head as he was released. "Not at all."

"But apart from that, you're completely mad. You should pack your bags, get back in that ship and fly for your lives."

Ida tilted her head at the abrupt change in attitude. "You can talk! And how the hell did you get here?"

The Doctor gestured vaguely. "Oh, I've got this, uh... this ship. It's hard to explain. It just sort of appears."

"We can show you, we parked down the corridor from uh... Oh, what's it called?" Rose said. "Habitation area..."

"Three."

"Three. Three."

"Do you mean storage six?" Zach asked, suddenly alarmed.

"It was a bit of a cupboard, yeah. Storage six. But you said... You said..." The Doctor trailed off as he suddenly remembered what had happened earlier. "You said storage five to eight."

He took off, out the door with Rose right behind him. Ember wasn't far behind, but she still missed a few seconds before she caught up with them at the door marked 16. The Doctor was standing a few feet away from it while Rose was against it, looking through the tiny glass window near the top.

"Look down." The Doctor said solemnly. As the blonde did so, the Time Lord looked at Ember as she leaned against the wall, panting slightly. "You knew?"

Ember nodded, though she was starting to shake. "I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you. This had to happen."

The Doctor moved closer to her, pausing when she flinched as though she expected him to strike her. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Ember looked up at him, confused. "Aren't you mad at me?"

"Why would I be?" The Doctor asked, frowning as he watched the brunette shake her head and look away. "Ember, I understand completely. I know that you can't always tell me what's going to happen. I know you want to, though. But it's okay, honest."

Ember flinched again when she felt him pull her into a hug. "I thought you didn't like not knowing stuff."

"Well, no one can know everything all the time. That's impossible, even for me."

Rose turned away from the door, blinking as she saw the two Time Lords hugging. "Ember? Are you alright?"

Ember nodded. She attempted to squirm out of the Doctor's hold, but he only tightened his grip with a cheeky grin. "Yea. I'm sorry. It's going to be ok, though. It's not destroyed. It just... has to be where it is right now."

* * *

"The ground gave way." The Doctor said to Zach as soon as the three travelers returned to the control room. "My Tardis must've fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you've got robot drills heading the same way."

"We can't divert the drilling." Zach said.

The Doctor frowned. "But I need my ship. It's all me and Ember have got. Literally the only thing, besides each other."

Ember blinked. Why was she included?

"Doctor, we've only got the resources to drill one central shaft down to the power source, and that's it. No diversions, no distractions, no exceptions." Zach stated, his face firm. "Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that is the end of it."

He walked away, leaving the Doctor looking shell shocked, and Ida cleared her throat. "I'll, uh... put you on the duty roster. We need someone in the laundry."

With that, she left the three alone, the door announcing when it opened and closed behind her.

"I've trapped you here." The Doctor finally said.

"No, don't worry about me." Rose said before the place shook a bit. She bit her lip. "Okay, we're on a planet that shouldn't exist, underneath a black hole and no way out. Yeah, I've changed my mind. Start worrying about me."

Ember fiddled with her hands, unsure of what to do. Both of them looked so heartbroken, and she wanted so badly to tell them, but it was already enough that she'd told them the Tardis was fine. She just hoped the day played out like it did in the show.

* * *

After a short time of moping, the group decided to go back to Habitation 3, where the Doctor was busying himself with trying to translate the alien script on the wall. Ember was sat on one of the chairs, still fiddling with her hands, while Rose had decided to get something to eat at the cafeteria-style area at the far back, where Ood were serving what was available.

"Help yourself. Just don't have the green." Scooti joked, then added "Or the blue."

Rose nodded as she took her tray to one of the serving windows, looking at the offers before gesturing to what looked like blue jelly. "Um, bit of that, thanks."

The Ood scooped some of the jelly onto her tray, then indicated to another substance. "Would you like sauce with that?"

"I'll have a go, yeah." She watched him add the 'sauce' before striking up some idle conversation. "I did that job once. I was a... dinner lady. Not that I'm calling you a lady. Although, I don't know, you might be. Do you actually get paid, though? Do they give you money?"

"The Beast and his Armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God."

Rose blinked. "I'm sorry?"

The Ood shook its orb before speaking again. "Apologies. I said, I hope you enjoy your meal."

"Yeah." Rose wasn't sure of that, so she took her tray and walked back to where Ember was sat. "Hey. How are you doing?"

Ember smiled slightly. "I'm ok." She looked at the tray of food, leaning over to smell it. Oddly, it didn't have a scent. "Let's hope you didn't just order liver."

Rose laughed before she paused. "...Did I?"

"Dunno. They never said what it was."

The lights flickered a bit as the place shook again, and Ida looked up at them before she spoke into the comm. "Zach? Have we got a problem?"

_"No more than usual."_ The captain replied. _"Got the Scarlet System burning up. Might be worth a look."_

Nodding, Ida moved to the switch that controled the shutters, calling over to the travelers. "You might want to see this. Moment in history."

When the shutters opened, the view of the black hole above them was a immense as before, but it looked like a red cloud was being pulled in now.

"There. On the edge." Ida pointed to it. "That red cloud. That used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi, a mighty civilisation spanning a billion years, disappearing forever. Their planets and suns consumed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed its passing."

She made to pull the switch again to close the shutters, only for the Doctor to stop her. "Uh, no, could you leave it open? Just for a bit. I won't go mad, I promise."

"How would you know?" Ida asked, not waiting for an answer as she turned to the trainee. "Scooti, check the lockdown. Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me."

"Um, maybe I should go with Scooti?" Ember suddenly called, making them look at her in puzzlement as she stood up. "Maybe she can give me a tour?"

Jefferson raised a brow. "We'll give you all a tour later. For now, you stay here."

Before Ember could protest, the three left, each taking a different door out. The brunette sat down heavily, sighing.

"You ok?" The Doctor said, moving to kneel next to her.

Ember shook her head. "There's danger here. Can't you feel it?"

The Doctor nodded, putting his hand on her knee to offer comfort. "How bad? Between face-stealing TVs at least threatening, to Daleks at the most."

Ember shrugged. "Nearing the Dalek end. There's a reason this planet is here; why it's right next to this black hole. I want to tell you, but-"

**_"No."_**

The sudden, dark voice boomed in her mind, making it ache, so much so that she flinched and grabbed her head with a whimper. "Wha-"

_**"You will not speak yet."**_

That voice - she recognised it. It was the Beast.

"Ember? Ember, what's wrong?"

The brunette shook her head to clear it as the Doctor's voice reached her. "My head... It hurts..."

The Doctor pulled her in for a hug, tucking her smaller frame against his. "You're probably still tired from your last adventure. You should try to rest."

"But... ah..." Ember winced as the headache flared a bit before calming down. "Ok..."

The Doctor eased her to turn so her back was to him and got her to lay back until she was lying on the seat with her head on his lap. "Take it easy."

Ember would have probably blushed as their position had her head not been throbbing at the moment. "Alright..."

Rose looked on in concern as Ember closed her eyes, the Doctor helping by putting his hand over them for added shielding from the lights. What she didn't see was that the Doctor took advantage of the touch to use his own telepathy to ease Ember into a light slumber: a simple subliminal trick that could have easily been refused if Ember wanted. The blonde tried to start up a conversation. "I've seen films and things, yeah. They say black holes are like gateways to another universe."

"Not that one." The Doctor replied, looking up at the black hole. "It just eats."

"Long way from home."

The Doctor glanced at her for a moment before raising his free hand and pointing just to the left. "Go that way, turn right, keep going for about, um... five hundred years, and you'll reach the Earth."

Rose smiled at his attempt to cheer her up. She pulled out her phone and turned it on. "No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could... What would I tell her?" She thought about her mother for a long moment before looking at the Doctor again. "Can you build another Tardis?"

"They were grown, not built. And with my own planet gone... we're kind of stuck."

"Well, it could be worse. This lot said they'd give us a lift."

The Doctor looked at her. "And then what?"

"I don't know. Find a planet, get a job, live a life, same as the rest of the universe."

"I'd have to settle down." The Doctor looked increasingly bothered by the thought alone. "Get a house or something. A proper house with... with doors and things. Carpets! Me, living in a house! Now that... that is terrifying."

"You'd have to get a mortgage." Rose joked in a sing song voice.

The Doctor's eyes widened, almost in fear. "No!"

"Oh, yes!"

"I'm dying. That's it. I'm dying. It is all over."

"Not dying..." Ember mumbled, mostly asleep as she shifted slightly. "No..."

Rose smiled at her, also noticing the Doctor look down at the brunette fondly. "What about me? I'd have to get one, too. I don't know, could be the same one. We could both, I don't know, share. Or not, you know... Could be just you two. Whatever. I don't know. We'll sort something out..."

"Anyway..."

"We'll see..."

"I promised Jackie I'd always take you back home." The Doctor said, gladly changing the subject.

"Everyone leaves home in the end."

"Not to end up stuck here."

"Yeah, but stuck with you... that's not so bad."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. And Ember is an added bonus."

The pair laughed, quietly so as not to disturb Ember, when Rose's phone suddenly started ringing. Confused, the blonde looked at the screen, seeing no number, and then hesitantly pressed ACCEPT before bringing the phone to her ear.

Before she could say anything, a deep voice rumbled at her.**_ "He is awake."_**

Rose's response was the throw the phone away from her, the clatter waking Ember as the Doctor looked concerned.

* * *

After explaining what she'd heard on the phone, and what the Ood had said, Rose, the Doctor and Ember made their way to Ood Habitation - after taking a wrong turn that the Doctor insisted wasn't his fault.

"Evening." He greeted Danny as he and the two women stepped onto a walkway above where the Ood were sat in rows

Rose smiled. "Only us."

"The mysterious trio." Danny greeted as they approached. "How are you, then? Settling in?"

The Doctor saw Ember lean on the railing, looking at the Ood with an unreadable expression. "Yeah. Sorry, straight to business, the Ood: how do they communicate? I mean, with each other."

"Oh, just empaths. There's a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does them much good. They're basically a herd race. Like cattle."

"If you say so," Ember murmured, just loud enough for the Doctor to hear her.

"This telepathic field. Can it pick up messages?" He asked.

"Because I was having dinner," Rose explained, "and one of the Ood said something, well... odd."

"Hmm." Danny mused, seemingly unconcerned. "An odd Ood."

"And then I got something else on my, uh... communicator thing."

"Oh, be fair. We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There's all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing. Look, if there was something wrong, it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It's the only way to look after them." Danny gestured to a monitor next to him. "They're so stupid, they don't even tell us when they're ill."

Ember's grip on the railing tightened, her knuckles turning white. It was getting very hard to resist decking the man, even if he didn't know the whole truth.

"Monitor the field." The Doctor said, looking at the monitor, which was displaying 'Basic 5' above what looked almost like brainwaves. "That's this thing?"

Danny barely glanced over as he checked some equipment. "Yeah. But like I said, it's low level telepathy. They only register basic five."

The Doctor raised a brow when the reading changed, going to 7, 8, 9 and then even higher. "Well, that's not basic five. Ten, twenty... They've gone up to basic thirty."

The Ood lifted their heads in unison. Ember tensed.

"But they can't..." Danny said, looking at the monitor.

"Doctor, the Ood." Rose alerted him before she turned to Danny. "What does basic thirty mean?"

"Well, it means that they're shouting, screaming inside their heads."

"Or something's shouting at them." The Doctor corrected.

Danny shook his head. "But where is it coming from? What is it saying? What did it say to you?"

"Something about the beast in the pit," Rose said.

"What about your communicator? What did that say?"

"...He is awake."

"And you will worship him." The Ood said, all together at once.

"What the hell?" Danny whispered.

The Doctor put his hands on the railing next to Ember, facing the Ood. "He is awake."

"And you will worship him." The Ood said again.

"Worship who?" There was no reply. "Who's talking to you? Who is it?"

"Something horrible..." Ember murmured, barely loud enough for them to hear her. She chose to stay up on the ramp with Danny as the Doctor and Rose went down to Ood to examine them. She thought about saying something else, only to flinch as pain flared in her head again. "Agh!"

She dropped to her knees, clutching her head in pain. The Doctor and Rose were quickly at her side, but before they could help her, the base suddenly shook violently, almost sending them all to the floor.

_"Emergency hull breach."_ The computer announced. _"Emergency hull breach."_

"Which section?" Danny yelled into his wrist comm.

_"Everyone, evacuate eleven to thirteen!"_ Zach's voice came through. _"We've got a breach! The base is open! Repeat, the base is open!"_

The Doctor pulled Ember to her feet and towards the door, Rose and Danny following. In the chaos it was hard to tell how much time had passed, but they soon reached Habitation 3, where they nearly crashed into Jefferson before he led them away.

_"I can't contain the oxygen field!"_ Zach yelled. _"We're going to lose it!"_

In the corridor not far from Habitation 3, Jefferson was shoving everyone through a hatch, Ida and Toby joining them. "Come on! Keep moving! And you too, Sunshine!"

The hatch was finally closed, and the chaos seemed to calm as the computer announced _"Breach sealed. Breach sealed."_

"Everyone all right?!" The Doctor said, getting nods from the gasping crew. "What happened? What was it?"

"Hull breach." Jefferson said as the computer announced that the oxygen levels were returning to normal. "We were open to the elements. Another couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters."

"That wasn't a quake. What caused it?"

_"We've lost sections eleven to thirteen."_ Zach's voice came from Jefferson's comm. _"Everyone all right?"_

Jefferson raised his wrist to reply. "We've got everyone here except Scooti. Scooti, report. Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report!"

_"She's all right. I've picked up her biochip. She's in Habitation three."_ Zach added. _"Better go and check, if she's not responding. She might be unconscious. How about that, eh? We survived."_

"Habitation three." Jefferson repeated. "Come on. I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on."

As the rest of the crew walked away, the Doctor noticed Ember staring intently at Tony, who was still kneeling on in the ground and looking at his shaking hands. "What happened?"

"I don't... I don't know..." Toby rambled. "I was working and then I can't remember. All that noise... The room was falling apart. There was no air..."

Rose helped him to his feet. "Come on. Up you get. Come and have some protein one."

"Oh, you've gone native." The Doctor teased.

"Oi, don't knock it. It's nice. Protein one with just a dash of three." Rose clicked her tongue as she led Toby away.

The Doctor was about to follow when he felt Ember take his hand. "Ember? Are you alright? Does your head still hurt?"

"No, it's fine now," Ember replied, though the Doctor could feel her hand still shaking. "But I got distracted. And something awful has happened..."

"It's alright," the Doctor gently freeing his hand so he could put his arm around her and tuck her into his side. "Whatever happened, it isn't your fault."

Ember nodded as he led her to follow the others, though she was far from believing his words.

The rest of the short trip back was quiet, and they soon found themselves in Habitation 3, looking around for the missing member of the crew as the others returned from checking the other corridors.

"I've checked Habitation four." Ida said upon her return, talking into her wrist comm. "Can you hear me?"

"There's no sign of her. The biochip says she's in the area." Jefferson said. "Have any of you seen Scooti?"

"No," Toby said. Ember was the only one to catch the hesitation in his voice. "No, no, I don't think so."

"Scooti, please respond." Ida said. "If you can hear this, please respond. Habitation six?"

Jefferson shook his head. "Nowhere here. Zach? We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing."

_"It says Habitation three."_ Zach replied.

"Yeah, well, that's where I am, and I'm telling you she's not here."

The Doctor felt Ember tug his jacket, and looked just in time to see her glance up before turning her face into his chest, a choked sob escaping her. He looked up, dread filling him. "I've found her."

Everyone looked at him, then followed his gaze up. The shutters were still open, showing the black hole... and the lifeless body of Scooti, skin turned blue and face frozen in a dead stare.

"Oh, my God." Rose covered her mouth with her hand, eyes wide as they stared at the body slowly drifting away from them.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor murmured, though it was unclear if he was talking to the dead woman above them or the silently sobbing woman he was holding. "I'm so sorry."

Jefferson raised his wrist comm to his mouth again, not taking his eyes off the sight. "Captain... Report, Officer Scootori Manista PKD... deceased. Forty three K two point one."

"She was twenty." Ida gasped, trying to fight back tears. "Twenty years old."

As she turned and hit the switch to close the shutters, Jefferson spoke a quote from something Ember didn't know. "For how should man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father and the temples of his Gods."

For several long moments, no one spoke as the shutters closed. Then, there was a faint rumble followed by silence.

"It's stopped." Ida said quietly.

"What was that?" Rose asked. "What was it?"

The Doctor glanced at her. "The drill."

"We've stopped drilling." Ida added. "We've made it. Point Zero."

Ember shook her head, still hiding her face against the Doctor's chest. In her mind, it was more like Ground Zero.

* * *

Despite the solemn atmosphere, the crew got on with their plans, going to the drilling station and preparing for the next stage of their mission. Ida was in an orange spacesuit as she readied herself.

_"All non essential Oods to be confined."_ Zach was saying over an intercom.

Ida nodded. "Capsule established. All systems functioning. The mineshaft is go. Bring systems online now."

Zach turned and blinked in surprise as the Doctor approached him, now clad in a spacesuit like Ida's with the helmet under his arm. "Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force."

"Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol. We don't even know who you are." Zach tried to reason.

"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you? And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on. Look me in the eye." He made a point to meet the captain's eye evenly. "Yes you do, I can see it. Trust."

Zach hesitated, and then he sighed. "I should be going down."

"The Captain doesn't lead the mission. He stays here, in charge."

"Not much good at it, am I?" Zach looked at him for a moment, then caved, turning to the rest of the crew. "Positions! We're going down in two. Everyone, positions! Mister Jefferson! I want maximum system enhancement."

The Doctor grinned, knowing he'd won, and turned to where Rose and Ember were standing to one side, both looking nervous. "Oxygen, nitro balance, gravity... It's ages since I wore one of these."

"I want that spacesuit back in one piece, you got that?" Rose said.

"Yes, sir." The Doctor said as he pulled the helmet on.

"It's funny, because people back home think that space travel's going to be all whizzing about and teleports and anti gravity, but it's not, is it? It's tough."

"I'll see you later." The Doctor said simply.

"Not if I see you first."

Ember expected Rose to kiss the helmet like she'd done in the show, only to blink when the blonde instead turned the Doctor and pushed him towards her with a smile. For a moment nothing was said, and Ember gave in and hugged him, burying her face in his chest.

"I don't care if that suit gets burned and ripped to shreds." She murmured, unsure if he heard. "You're the one I want back in one piece."

"I'll do my best," The Doctor said, holding her close for a moment before somewhat reluctantly pulling away. He gestured to his face. "Kiss for good luck?"

Ember blushed, but leaned up and kissed the faceplate right where his forehead was before she could think about it for too long. He sent her a wink and a grin before he turned to join Ida at the capsule. Zach's voice came through the comms from the Control Room he'd returned to.

_"Capsule active. Counting down in ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."_ The Doctor and Ida got in the capsule, Jefferson closing the door and stepping back. _"Five, four, three, two, one... Release."_

The capsule shuddered and began to lower into the tunnel the drill had made. Ember glanced over at Toby, who was anxiously checking his palms as though expecting something to be there. She debated saying something, but without proof the others would probably brush her off.

_"You've gone beyond the oxygen field."_ Zach said, drawing her attention back to a monitor that showed the capsule's decent. _"You're on your own."_

Rose reached over and grabbed a radio from the hook, assuming correctly that it was a means of communicating to the two. "Don't forget to breath. Breathing's good."

_"Rose, stay off the comm."_ Zach said.

"No chance." Rose looked at Ember and winked, making her smile. Suddenly, it seemed like the capsule took a dive down the shaft, landing at the bottom with a loud crunch that made everyone look startled. "Doctor? Doctor, are you all right?"

_"Ida, report to me. Doctor?"_

_"It's all right. We've made it."_ The Doctor's voice came back._ "Getting out of the capsule now."_

"What's it like down there?" Rose asked.

_"It's hard to tell. Some sort of cave. Cavern. It's massive."_

_"Well, this should help. Gravity globe."_ There was a pause from Ida that was filled with a light humming sound. _"That's, that's... My God, that's beautiful."_

_"Rose, you can tell Toby... we've found his civilisation."_

Rose looked over at Toby, not noticing his weird behaviour. "Oi, Toby. Sounds like you've got plenty of work!"

"Good, good." He muttered. "Good."

Zach cut in before Ember could comment. _"Concentrate now, people. Keep on the mission. Ida, what about the power source?"_

_"We're close. Energy signature indicates north, north west. Are you getting pictures up there?"_

_"There's too much interference. We're in your hands."_

_"Well, we've come this far. There's no turning back."_

_"Oh, did you have to?"_ The Doctor whined. _"No turning back? That's almost as bad as nothing can possible go wrong, or this is going to be the best Christmas Walford's ever had..."_

_"Are you finished?"_ Ida said flatly.

_"...Yeah. Finished."_

Just then, Danny came over the comm from Ood Habitation. _"Captain, sir. There's something happening with the Ood."_

_"What are they doing?"_ Zach asked.

_"They're staring at me. I've told them to stop, but they won't."_

_"Danny, you're a big boy. I think you can take being stared at."_

_"But the telepathic field, sir. It's at basic one hundred. I've checked, there isn't any fault. It's definitely one hundred."_

_"But that's impossible."_

"What's basic one hundred mean?" Rose asked, looking at Jefferson.

_"They should be dead."_ Danny said.

Jefferson nodded. "Basic one hundred's brain death."

_"But they're safe?"_ Zach tried to clarify. _"They're not actually moving?"_

_"No, sir."_ Danny replied.

_"Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson? Keep a guard on the Ood."_

Jefferson nodded, raising his gun and turning to face the three Ood that were in the room with them. "Officer at arms!"

"Yes, sir!" The female Officer with him did the same.

"You can't fire a gun in here." Rose said. "What if you hit a wall?"

Ember shook her head. "Bullets safe for space base use."

"I'm firing stock fifteen." Jefferson nodded. "It only impacts upon organics. Keep watch. Guard them."

"Yes, sir."

_"Is everything all right up there?"_ The Doctor asked, not having heard the whole exchange.

"Yeah, yeah." Rose said, trying to sound cheery.

_"It's fine."_ Zach said.

_"Great."_ Danny added.

_"... Ember? Is everything alright?"_

Ember hesitated, but took the radio when Rose handed it to her. "As good as it can be. What have you found?"

_"Should have known you'd know,"_ the Doctor teased before answering the question. _"We've found something. It looks like metal. Like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be trapdoor. Not a good word, trapdoor. Never met a trapdoor I liked."_

_"The edge is covered with those symbols."_ Ida added.

Zach spoke next. _"Do you think it opens?"_

_"That's what trapdoors tend to do."_ The Doctor replied.

_"Trapdoor doesn't do it justice."_ Ida said._ "It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter."_

_"Any way of opening it?"_

There was a pause before Ida replied. _"I don't know. I can't see any sort of mechanism."_

_"I suppose that's the writing."_ The Doctor mused. _"It'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation."_

_"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?"_ Zach asked.

Rose leaned over to where Toby was still kneeling on the floor, his back to them. "Toby, they need to know that lettering. Does it make any sort of sense?"

"I know what it says." For the first time since the last quake, his voice was calm. Ember froze.

"Then tell them."

Jefferson looked puzzled, knowing the man hadn't moved since they sent their friends down the shaft. "When did you work that out?"

"It doesn't matter, just tell them." Rose said as Toby slowly stood up. When he turned to face them, they were shocked to find his face covered in alien symbols and his eyes blood-red.

**_"These are the words of the Beast."_** He said, his voice now deep and almost inhuman. **_"And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise."_**

Jefferson raised his weapon at the young man. "Officer, stand down. Stand down!"

_"What is it? What's he done?"_ The Doctor asked, hearing some commotion. _"What's happening? Rose, what's going on? Ember?"_

_"Jefferson? Report."_ Zach called._ "Report!"_

"Officer, as Commander of Security, I order you to stand down and be confined." Jefferson said. "Immediately!"

Rose held the radio close. "He's come out in those symbols all over his face. They're all over him."

**_"Mister Jefferson."_** 'Toby' said calmly. **_"Tell me, sir. Did your wife ever forgive you?"_**

Jefferson hesitated. "I don't know what you mean."

**_"Let me tell you a secret. She never did."_**

"Officer, you will stand down and be confined."

**_"Or what?"_**

"Or under the strictures of Condition Red, I am authorised to shoot you."

**_"But how many can you kill?"_** 'Toby' opened his mouth, a dull roar coming out as the alien symbols drift off of his skin like smoke, going right for the Ood and seeping into them. Toby, now looking normal, coughed and collapsed.

Ember was about to move to do something, but then the pain flared in her head again, sending her to her knees with a cry.

**_"We are the Legion of the Beast..."_** The Ood said at once.

_"Rose? What is it, Rose? Ember?!"_ The Doctor yelled, but got no reply. _"I'm going back up."_

_"Report. Report!"_ Zach was also yelling._ "Jefferson, report. Someone, report!"_

**_"The Legion shall be many, and the Legion shall be few..."_**

"It's the Ood." Rose murmured into the radio.

Jefferson turned his gun toward the Ood. "Sir, we have contamination in the livestock."

"Doctor, I don't know what it is. It's like they're possessed. And Ember's in pain..."

"They won't listen to us!"

**_"He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time. Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Kroptor. Some may call him Satan or Lucifer. Or the Bringer of Despair, the Deathless Prince, the Bringer of Night. These are the words that shall set him free."_**

"Back up to the door!"

**_"I shall become manifest..."_**

"Move quickly!" Jefferson shiver them toward the far door, away from the advancing Ood.

**_"I shall walk in the light."_**

"To the door! Get it open!"

**_"My Legions shall swarm across the worlds..."_**

The whole place shook violently, adding to the chaos. If one focused, Ida and Zach could be heard shouting.

_"Doctor, it's opening!"_

_"We're moving! The whole thing's moving. The planet's moving!"_

**_"I am the sin and the temptation and the desire. I am the pain and the loss and the death of hope..."_**

"Get that door open!" Jefferson yelled.

Zach could be heard on the comm. _"The gravity field. It's going! We're losing orbit! We're going to fall into the black hole!"_

**_"I have been imprisoned for eternity, but no more."_**

The door refused to open, annouching such. _"Door sealed."_

"Come on!" Rose cried, but got nothing but the same. She was helping Ember stay upright, until the brunette collapsed, unconscious. "Ember!"

_"Door sealed."_

**_"The Pit is open. And I am free. Bwahahahahahaha!"_**

* * *

Well, there we go. Hope you like it so far.

Slight bit of bad news, though. Usually I try to post the second part a few days after the first, but I'm afraid that won't happen this time. It will be coming on shedule on Monday, though.

Next Time: It's time to face the devil, and Ember is about to get a bombshell in the form of an answer she's been looking for. Stay tuned!


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven: The Satan Pit

Ok, here's part 2. Something is itching me about this chapter, but I hope it's turned out ok. We've got a bombshell coming; an answer to one of so many questions!

A reviewer asked if I was going to have Ember encounter the 13th Doctor. This fic was partially written ages ago, way before that Doctor, and was meant to end at a certain point. It's too late to change that now unless I rewrite the whole thing.

However, where I originally planned to have four parts in this saga, I might extend it to go further in the series, which would go as far as the 13th Doctor. I can't promise this, as it's way too early to do so, but I'll be thinking about it. I've certainly had a few ideas about Ember's encounters with the future Doctors.

Anyways, on with the chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Twenty Seven: The Satan Pit

* * *

_She was beyond angry. She was incensed!_

_How dare he think he had the right to do this! After everything she'd done, all the things she was planning to do, he was just going to ruin it all? For fun?!_

_"How dare you!"_

_"I dare," he replied, his low tone dark with a hint of malice. "Are you not curious? These little things you want to see, would it not be fun to see them squirm?"_

_"I will not have everything go to waste just to amuse you!"_

_"So what will you do? I know that you will not destroy me."_

_"I never said I'd destroy you; that would be too easy. I've got a better idea." Her smirk made him nervous for the first time ever..._

* * *

"Ember? Can you hear me? Come on, wake up!"

Ember slowly drifted back into consciousness, hearing Rose calling to her. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself on the floor of the drilling room. "Wha...?"

"Oh, thank God, you're ok!" Rose said in relief, helping the brunette sit up. "Are you alright? You really scared me back there!"

Ember put a hand to her head with a wince. It was still throbbing, but not as much as it had been. "Yea, I'm fine. Just a massive headache. Remind me to ask the Doctor for some painkillers later."

"Oh! The Doctor!" Rose jumped up and ran to the abandoned radio, holding it to her mouth and pressing the button. "Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor, Ida, are you there?"

_"Open door 25."_

Everyone looked at the door in fear as the computer announced its opening, Jefferson and the female guard preparring to shoot. Instead of any Ood, however, Danny was the one who appeared and closed the door behind him.

"It's me! But they're coming." He said, panting. "It's the Ood. They've gone mad."

Ember looked to where she last saw the Ood, her hearts twisting in sympathy as she saw the corpses that remained.

"How many of them?" Jefferson asked.

"All of them! All fifty!"

"Danny, out of the way. Out of the way!"

Danny looked scared as Jefferson and the other guard pushed him aside and approached the door. "But they're armed! It's the interface device. I don't know how, but they're using it as a weapon!"

He was ignored, and Jefferson opened the door. Right on the other side, an Ood reached out with its orb and pressed it against the forehead of the female guard, her scream short as she was killed swiftly. Jefferson was quick to shoot the Ood before closing the door. "Seal door 24! Seal door 23!"

_"Jefferson, what's happening there?"_ Zach called through the comm.

"I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?"

_"All I've got is a bolt gun. With uh... all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is."_

"Save it." Everyone looked at Ember when she said that, puzzled. "We'll need it later."

Jefferson briefly wondered what she was talking about, but thought better than to bother right now. "Given the emergency, I recommend Strategy Nine."

_"Strategy Nine..."_ Zach barely took a second to think about it. "_Agreed. Right, we need to get everyone together. Rose? What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word?"_

Rose shook her head. "I can't get a reply. Just nothing. I keep trying, but it's-"

_"No, sorry, I'm fine."_ The Doctor's voice suddenly called back. _"Still here."_

"You could've said, you stupid-"

Ember flinched at not only the static feedback, but the choice of word Rose used. No wonder they didn't let that be heard in the show.

_"Whoa. Careful!"_ The Doctor teased. _"Anyway, it's both of us. Me and Ida. Hello! But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this... chasm."_

"How deep is it?"

_"Can't tell. It looks like it goes down forever."_

"The pit is open." Rose murmured. "That's what the voice said."

Zach paused. _"But there's nothing. I mean... There's nothing coming out?"_

_"No, no."_ The Doctor replied. "_No sign of the Beast."_

"That's because it's already out." Ember winced as the pain in her head flared a bit, but then dulled. "At least, a part of it is."

"It said Satan." Rose said, apparently not hearing her.

The Doctor tried to pull her away from those thoughts. _"Come on, Rose. Keep it together."_

"Is there no such thing? Doctor, Ember? Doctor, tell me there's no such thing."

Ember put her hand on Rose's shoulder, finally able to stand up without feeling like she was going to fall over. "Easy, Rose. Everything gets an idea from somewhere. There's always a tiny stem of truth in every fable, even if it's warped and much more different than the original."

_"Ida?"_ Zach called from the control room._ "I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately."_

_"But, we've come all this way..."_ Ida tried to argue.

_"Okay, that was an order. Withdraw. When that thing opened, the whole planet shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now."_

_"But it's not much better up there with the Ood!"_

_"I'm initiating Strategy Nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately, no ar-"_ There was a fizzle to indicate that the comm had been shut off. _"Ida? Ida!"_

Rose blinked. "What happened?"

"Ida turned off the comm." Ember said. "She and the Doctor are now weighing their options. It's ok. They'll be back in a minute."

As if on cue, the comm crackled to life again almost a minute later, and the Doctor spoke._ "Rose, we're coming back."_

"Best news I've heard all day." Rose replied with a smile, only for it to drop when she saw Jefferson point his rifle at Toby, who looked terrified. "What're you doing?"

"He's infected." Jefferson said, his weapon trained on the young man. "He brought that thing on board. You saw it."

Rose moved so that she was between the armed man and the scared Toby. "Are you going to start shooting your own people now, Is that what you're going to do? Is it?"

"If necessary."

"Well then, you'll have to shoot me, if necessary, so what's it going to be?" Rose knelt beside Toby. "Look at his face. Whatever it was, it's gone. It passed into the Ood. You saw it happen. He's clean."

"And what about your friend?" Jefferson jerked his head in Ember's general direction, making the brunette falter. "She passed out the moment it turned up. Maybe it's trying to take over her too."

Ember bit her lip, and then moved so that she was standing beside Rose. She really didn't like that a gun was pointed at her now, but she understood their doubts. "I don't know if that's the case, but if it turns out to be that way, I'll tell you right now: If I show any sign of being taken over - red eyes, roaring or alien symbols on my face - then you have my permission to put me out of my misery on the spot. Until then, back off. Got it?"

A long moment passed, and then Jefferson slowly lowered his weapon. Ember let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Any sign of trouble, I'll shoot them."

Rose let out a breath of her own as the older man turned away, and then she turned to face Toby. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah..." Toby replied, then shook his head. "I don't know..."

"Can you remember anything?"

"Just... it was so angry. It was fury and rage and death. It was him. It was the devil."

"Come on." Rose gently hugged the young man, trying to offer comfort. When she pulled away and straightened to go back to the comm, Toby made to follow her only for Ember to intercept him, her back facing the rest of the group.

"I know you're still in there." She said, her voice lowered so that she wasn't heard by the others. "And I know what you're planning. This is your one chance: stop."

For a moment it looked like she'd gotten it wrong, but then 'Toby's eyes turned red. He leaned down so that the others didn't see the change, and spoke in the deep voice.** _"If you tell them, I will kill them all. I don't need them to survive in order for me to leave."_**

"Yes, you do. You may be powerful, but you don't know how to fly a rocket. You need someone to live long enough to get you out of here."

Those red eyes regarded her thoughtfully, making her shiver. **_"Then perhaps we could come to an... arrangement. If you step aside, I will let you live. I will even stop the pain you've been feeling since you set foot here..."_**

The way he said that - like he knew already - made Ember pause, realisation dawning. "_You've_ been causing my headaches."

**_"The boy is weak, but you... together, we could be so much more..."_**

Ember held her ground, though it was pretty scary to see those eyes up close, especially when they were raking over her like a lion stalking prey. "Your tempting isn't going to work on me. But I'll give you this one bit of advice: If you try to escape, you won't like how it turns out."

There was a stab of pain in her head as he smirked at her, not showing any outward sign of surprise by her rejection. **_"_****_And how are you going to stop me? You are not nearly strong enough yet to destroy me with your flames."_**

"I never said I'd be the one to destroy you." Ember replied, her words similar to what she'd said in her dream. "I'm just giving you that one chance. Take it or leave it: up to you."

She turned away then, but 'Toby' saw her eyes flash completely silver for a split second, his own eyes widening at the sight. By the time Ember had reached the others and looked back, Toby was normal again, apparently ignorant of the whole thing.

_"Okay, we're in."_ Ida called over the comm, bringing her back to the present. _"Bring us up."_

Jefferson set the controls ready. "Ascension in three, two, one..."

Suddenly, the power went out. As if that wasn't enough, the deep voice they'd heard before - from the Ood and - echoed from the dark.

**_"This is the darkness. This is my domain."_** The monitor flickered, the image changing to that of several Ood staring at them with red eyes and speaking as one. **_"You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die in the end..."_**

_"That's not the Ood."_ Zach's voice cut in _"Something's talking through them."_

**_"Only the darkness remains."_**

Zach chose to speak up again. _"This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six, representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself."_

**_"You know my name."_**

_"...What do you want?"_

**_"You will die here. All of you. This planet is your grave."_**

"It's him." Toby whispered, looking petrified. "It's him. It's him..."

_"If you are the Beast, then answer me this. Which one, hmm?"_ The Doctor said, challenging the dark voice. _"Cos the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archiphets, Orkology, Christianity, Pash Pash, New Judaism, San Klah, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?"_

**_"All of them."_**

_"What, then you're the truth behind the myth?"_

**_"This one knows me as I know him... The killer of his own kind."_**

The Doctor chose not to acknowledge the jab. _"How did you end up on this rock?"_

**_"The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity."_**

Ember winced as her headache throbbed slightly harder for a moment. It was like there was something on the edge of her consciousness, bristling at the words as though in recognition. It felt like she should know this...

_"When was this?"_ The Doctor asked.

**_"Before time."_**

_"What does that mean?"_

**_"Before time."_**

_"What does before time mean?"_

**_"Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created."_**

_"...That's impossible. No life could have existed back then."_ Ember blinked at the hesitation. Why was he not sounding as sure as he'd been on the show?

**_"Is that your religion?"_**

_"It's a belief."_

**_"You know nothing. All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared of command. The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from Daddy. The little boy who lied. The virgin. And the lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon."_**

Rose's voice was shaking as much as her hand as she raised the comm. "Doctor, what does that mean?"

_"Rose, don't listen."_

"What does it mean?"

**_"You will die and I will live."_**

Ember tilted her head. "You left me out of your little monologue. Who am I to you then?"

There was a pause, long enough to her to visibly shiver like ice had brushed against her nape, and then the voice came back, strangely hesitant, as though it wasn't quite sure what it was seeing. **_"You... who command the flames and the waves, the wind and the earth... Such power, but there is a rage inside you, waiting to be unleashed. A rage that will consume you..."_**

That made Ember start to feel nervous, recalling the multiple occasions when her anger had nearly gotten the better of her. Thinking about it, it had been that way from the start: her first use of fire had been brought on by getting angry.

**_"There is more to you than you realise. You are... one of them." _**The way it said 'them' was like it had sucked on a bitter lemon, the disgust almost physically dripping from it. Whatever it was referring to, it was angry about it.

"Them'?" Ember repeated, puzzled. "Who is 'them'?"

**_"An ancient race, with power rivalling that of gods. But I will not be entombed again!"_**

The image of the Ood was replaced by a roaring horned beast, making everyone jump back in surprise, before the monitor went blank.

"What the hell was that?!" Danny yelped.

"I had that thing inside my head!" Toby was muttering.

Rose was speaking into the comm. "Doctor, what did it mean?"

Ember tuned out the voices of the others as she tried to piece together what she'd heard. The Beast said she was part of an ancient race, similar to what Skaldak had said before. But what did it mean when it said about power rivalling the gods and that she wasn't nearly strong enough yet, and that there was a rage inside her? Not to mention, it said that she was one of 'them'. Who?

Before she could think on it anymore, a loud screech of feedback came over the comm, making everyone stop yelling and questioning. The Doctor's voice quickly followed.

_"You want voices in the dark, then listen to mine. That thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff."_

"But that's how the devil works." Danny argued.

_"Or a good psychologist."_

_"Yeah, but how did it know about my father?"_ Ida asked.

Ember grabbed the comm. "A strong enough telepath or empath can easily see your deepest fears and use them against you."

_"And what makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hmm?"_ The Doctor added. _"Cos I'll tell you what I can see. Humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket right into the orbit of a black hole, just for the sake of discovery. That's amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing, all of you. The Captain, his Officer, his elders, his juniors, his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him-"_

"No!" Ember suddenly cried, but it was too late. There was a loud bang and the cable snapped, sending it hurtling down the shaft.

_"The cable's snapped!"_ Ida cried.

_"Get out!"_

A thick plume of dust flew up from the shaft as the cable hit the bottom, damaging if not destroying the capsule that was there.

"Doctor, we lost the cable!" Rose called into the comm. "Doctor, are you all right? Doctor!"

Zach has a better view of things from the control room, but it wasn't good news. _"Comms are down."_

"Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me?"

Ember put her hand on Rose's shoulder to steady her. "They're alive, Rose, it's okay."

_"She's right."_ Zach confirmed. _"I've still got life signs, but we've lost the capsule."_

Rose tried one more time with the comm. "Say something. Are you there?"

_"There's no way out. They're stuck down there."_

"But we've got to bring them back!"

"They're ten miles down. We haven't got another ten miles of cable." Jefferson shook his head as a banging came from the door behind them. "Captain? Situation report."

_"It's the Ood."_ More banging, from their door and the one keeping Zach safe. _"They're cutting through the door bolts. They're breaking in."_

"Yeah, it's the same on door 25."

Rose looked worried. "How long's it going to take?"

"Well, it's only a basic frame, it should take ten minutes." Jefferson winced slightly as the door banged again. "Eight."

_"I've got a security frame. It might last a bit longer, but that doesn't help you."_ Zach sounded almost defeated.

Ember straightened. "Then we have seven minutes to come up with a plan. Rose?"

"Right. So we need to stop them, or get out, or both."

"I'll take both, yeah?" Danny agreed. "But how?"

"You heard the Doctor. Why do you think that thing cut him off? Cos he was making sense. He was telling you to think your way out of this. Come on! For starters, we need some lights. There's got to be some sort of power somewhere."

_"There's nothing I can do."_ Zach huffed._ "Some Captain, stuck in here, pressing buttons."_

"That's what the Doctor meant. Press the right buttons."

"We just need a little power, right? Not for the whole base." Ember said, trying to give a hint without being obvious.

_"They've gutted the generators!"_ Zach paused. _"...But the rocket's got an independent supply. If I could reroute that... Mister Jefferson? Open the bypass conduits. Override the safety."_

Jefferson moved to do just that, going to the console. "Opening bypass conduits, sir."

_"Channelling rocket feed in three, two, one. Power!"_

There was a low hum, and then the lights flickered on. Rose grinned. "There we go."

"Let there be light!" Danny cheered.

"What about that strategy nine thing?"

Jefferson shook his head. "Not enough power. It needs a hundred percent."

"All right, we need a way out. Zach, Mister Jefferson, you start working on that." Rose turned to the archaeologist. "Toby, what about you?"

"I'm not a soldier." The young man said. "I can't do anything."

"No, you're the archeologist. What do you know about the pit?"

"Well, nothing. We can't even translate the language."

"Right..." Rose turned away, disappointed.

"Hold on. Maybe..."

Rose turned back to him. "What is it?"

"...Since that thing was inside my head, it's like the letters made more sense..."

"Well, get to work. Anything you can translate, just anything." Rose turned away again, this time going to Danny. "As for you, Danny boy. You're in charge of the Ood. Any way of stopping them?"

"Well, I don't know..."

"Then find out. The sooner we get control of the Base, the sooner we can get the Doctor out. Shift."

Ember looked down into the shaft, hoping that the Doctor was alright.

A few minutes later, there was another bang from the door as Jefferson worked. "Open junctions five, six, seven. Reroute filters sixteen to twenty four. Go."

Danny types at the console as Rose and Ember moved to his sides to watch. "There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood. Trouble is, we haven't got them on board."

"Well, that's handy, listing all the things we haven't got." Rose quipped. "We haven't got a swimming pool either. Or a Tesco's."

Ember shook her head. "We don't need a virus. Just something to stop the psychic link."

Danny paused, thoughtful, before he tried something else. His eyes widened as the screen flashed an affirmative. "Oh, my God. It says yes. I can do it. Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!" He looked at Ember. "You're a genius!"

That made the brunette blush as she looked away. "Thanks, but you'd have figured it out on your own."

"What happens to the Ood?" Rose asked.

"It'll tank them, spark-out." Danny replied.

"There we are, then. Do it!"

At that the young man hesitated. "No, but I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation."

"That's what we'll do, then." Rose went back to Jefferson at the other terminal. "Mister Jefferson, sir. Any way out?"

"Just about." The head of security gestured to the screen, indications what looked like tunnels. "There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here."

"Ventilation shafts?"

"Yeah, I appreciate the reference, but there's no ventilation. No air, in fact, at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms."

_"But I can manipulate the oxygen field from here."_ Zach said over the comm. _"Create discrete pockets of atmosphere. If I control it manually, I can follow you through the network."_

Rose nodded. "Right, so we go down, and you make the air follow us by hand."

_"You wanted me pressing buttons." _

"Yeah, I asked for it. Okay, we need to get to Ood Habitation. Work out a route." The blonde turned to where Ember was still looking over the edge of the shaft. "Ember? Any hints?"

The brunette didn't answer for a few moments, and then she sighed. "He's alive. And he'll be back." She finally turned away from the shaft to go to the deck of grate that she knew would be their way out. "In the meantime, this is our way out."

"How did she know that?" Jefferson asked, having just seen it on the monitor.

"I have a cheat sheet." Was all Ember said, not in the mood to explain further.

A minute later, the Ood were almost through the door. Everyone except Danny was at the open decking, while the young man was still at the terminal.

"Danny!" Rose called.

"Hold on! Just conforming!"

"Dan, we got to go now! Come on!" Jefferson said.

Danny finally pulled an orange computer chip from the machine and ran over to the rest of the group. "Yeah! Put that in the monitor and it's a bad time to be an Ood!"

"We're coming back." Rose stated, making sure they all understood. "Have you got that? We're coming back to this room and we're getting the Doctor out."

Jefferson didn't bother to argue, knowing that now wasn't the time. "Okay. Danny, you go first, then you, Miss Tyler, Miss Ember and then Toby. I'll go last in defensive position. Now, come on, quick as you can!"

Ember saw the door finally open, the Ood stepping in. She threw out her hand and made a line of fire appear between the Ood and the humans, which made the former stop advancing and the latter look shocked.

"What the hell was that?" Danny asked.

"Cheat sheet! Now go!" Ember snapped, making the group finally get moving. They quickly made their way into the tunnel and closed it behind them.

"God, it stinks!" Rose said, scrunching her nose before she looked at Danny. "You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm laughing." Danny replied sassily as he lifted his wrist comm. "Which way do we go?"

_"__Just go straight ahead. Keep going till I say so."_ Zach instructed.

The group began to crawl along the tunnel in single file, and Rose couldn't resist a quip. "Not your best angle, Danny."

"Oi, stop it!"

"I don't know," Toby said, "it could be worse."

Ember suddenly realised that he was behind her, meaning that it was _her_ bottom that he was eyeing. She was very glad to be wearing jeans as she looked over her shoulder to level him with a glare. "Eyes off, buddy!"

"I'd listen to her," Rose called back, a smirk on her face. "Cuz if she doesn't clout you one, the Doctor will."

The brunette raised a brow at that, but only got a wink in response.

_"Straight on until you find junction seven point one."_ Zach said, bringing them back on track. _"Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you."_

They reached a closed door and Danny spoke into the wrist comm. "We're at seven point one, sir."

_"Okay, I've got you. I'm just aerating the next section."_

"Getting kind of cramped, sir. Can't you hurry up?"

_"I'm working on half power, here."_

"Stop complaining." Jefferson said.

Rose leaned over to. "Mister Jefferson says stop complaining."

"I heard."

"He heard."

"But the air's getting a bit thin." Toby said.

Rose rolled her eyes. "He's complaining now."

"I heard."

Ember took a breath and promptly regretted it, lifting her shirt over her nose. "Pee-yew!"

Rose caught it too. "Danny, is that you?"

"I'm not exactly happy!"

_"I'm just moving the air."_ Zach said. _"__I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's going to feel worse."_

Ember concentrated, providing a small breeze to circulate the air a little. Everyone except Rose was surprised.

"Thanks, Ember." The blonde muttered to her.

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a massive bang from somewhere down the tunnel, making them all jump and breaking Ember's concentration.

"What was that?" Danny said.

"Mister Jefferson, what was that?"

"What's that noise?" Toby added.

Jefferson lifted his wrist comm to speak into it. "Captain, what was that?"

_"The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood. They're in the tunnels!"_

"Well, open the gate!" Danny yelled.

_"I've got to get the air in!"_

"Just open it, sir!"

Rose looked down the tunnel, bearding the banging but not seeing the source. "Where are they? Are they close?"

_"I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms."_

"Whose idea was that?"

"An idiot, that's who!" Ember said.

"Open the gate!" A second after Danny shouted, the gate slid up, allowing them to scramble onwards as Zach shouted instructions. _"Danny, turn left. Immediate left!"_

"The Ood, sir, can't you trap them?" Jefferson called. "Cut off the air?"

_"Not without cutting off yours. __Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up!"_

"I'll maintain defensive position." Jefferson said, turning to face the tunnel the way they'd come.

Rose stopped crawling, stopping Toby and Ember from moving as well. "You can't stop!"

"Miss Tyler, that's my job. You've got your task, now see to it!"

"You heard what he said, now shift!" Toby said, shoving Ember in the back a little harder than necessary. The rest of the group crawled on, following Danny to the next closed door as they heard gun shots from behind them.

"Eight point two." Danny said. "Open eight point two, Zach! Open eight point two!"

_"I've got to aerate it!"_

"Open it now!"

_"I'm trying!"_

"Danny, stop it!" Rose said as Danny thumped the closed door with his fist. "That's not helping."

"Zach, get it open!" Toby yelled into his comm.

_"Jefferson, I've got to open eight point two by closing eight point one. You've got to get past the junction. Now move! That's an order, now move!"_

Ember tried to push her way to the back of the group so she could go back for the man, but Rose and Toby grabbed her arms to stop her. She knew that the blonde was doing it out of fear, but the young man was doing it to stop her from saving Jefferson. She thought about using fire to help keep the Ood back, but she could already feel that it wouldn't help; Fire consumed oxygen, meaning she could end up using the air and suffocating them.

_"I'm going to lose oxygen, Jefferson, I can't stop for your dramatics!"_

The gate opened next to Danny. "That's it! Come on!"

_"Danny, turn left and head for nine point two. That's the last one!"_ Zach said to them before addressing the straying member of the group. _"Jefferson, You've got to move faster. John, move!"_

"Mister Jefferson!" Rose called, seeing the man appear from round the corner.

"Keep going!" Toby pushed the blonde.

All Ember could do was watch helplessly as gate 8.1 closed before Jefferson could reach it, trapping him on the other side.

_"__Regret to inform, sir,"_ the head of security said into the comm. _"__I was a bit slow. Not so fast, these days."_

_"__I can't open eight point one, John."_ Zach said. _"Not without losing air for the others."_

Rose, Ember, Danny and Toby listened without interrupting.

_"__And quite right too, sir."_ Jefferson agreed. _"I think I bought them a little time."_

_"There's nothing I can do, John. I'm sorry."_

_"You've done enough, sir. Made a very good captain under the circumstances. May I ask, if you can't add oxygen to this section... can you speed up the process of its removal?"_

_"I don't understand. What do you mean?"_

_"Well, if I might chose the manner of my departure, sir, lack of air seems more natural than, well, let's say... death by Ood. I'd appreciate it, sir!"_

_"...God speed, Mister Jefferson."_ Zach said after a long moment.

_"Thank you, sir."_

Ember bowed her head, closing her eyes tightly as there was a whooshing sound. Her arm trembled in Rose's grip as the brunette yanked her other arm away from Toby.

_"__Report,"_ Zach said solemnly._ "Officer John Maynard Jefferson PKD deceased w__ith_ _honours. 43 K two point one."_

No one spoke for several moments, and then Danny lifted his wrist comm. "Zach, we're at the final junction, nine point two. And uh... if my respects could be on record. He saved our lives."

_"Noted. Opening nine point two."_

"No!" Ember cried, but she was too late. The gate began to open, and they immediately saw an Ood waiting on the other side.

"Lower nine point two!" Rose cried, crawling back. "Hurry, Zach!"

"Back! Back! Back!"

Toby looked back the way they'd come. "We can't go back! The gang point's sealed off! We're stuck!"

"Up!" Ember yelled, already reaching up to the grate and pushing. Rose quickly caught on and helped her push open the grate, which let them out into a corridor near door 32. "Come on, move it!"

The girls got out first, quickly reaching to help Danny get out. Leaving the young man with Rose, Ember lowered her torso into the tunnel so she was upside down, and just caught sight of 'Toby' hushing the Ood, his eyes red.

"Oi, devil boy!" Ember hissed, making sure she didn't get heard by the others above. 'Toby' turned to her. "As much as I wanna leave you here, get your ass moving!"

"Help me!" 'Toby' cried loudly, sounding like he was panicking even as he calmly crawled towards her. "Oh my god, help me!"

"Drama queen," Ember muttered, pulling herself out of the tunnel so that she and Rose could help Toby get out. She wanted to leave the possessed man behind, but she knew that he would only kill them with ease.

Once they were all up into the corridor, Ember turned to the far end, where the Ood were already pursuing them. She threw out her hand, making flames engulf the corridor to stop the Ood from advancing. "That won't hold them back for long! Let's go!"

Danny looked like he wanted to argue, but Rose gave him a shove. "It's this way!"

_"Hurry it up!"_ Zach called through the comm as they reached Ood Habitation.

"Get it in!" Rose urged Danny to the terminal as the Ood who were on the level below looked up at them. "Transmit!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying! I'm getting at it!"

Ember went to the top of the stairs and made flames appear in front of her to keep the Ood at bay. "Sometime today would be great!"

"Danny, get that thing transmitting!"

After a fumble, Danny finally got the computer chip into the terminal. There was a high pitched sound that made Ember wince as the Ood grabbed their heads and writhed before collapsing.

"You did it!" Rose cried in joy, hugging Danny. "We did it!"

"Yes!"

"Zach, we did it. The Ood are down! Now we've got to get the Doctor."

_"__I'm on my way."_ Zach replied. _"Meet me at the drill."_

Ember bit her lip and grabbed Rose by the arm, lowering her voice so that the guys couldn't hear her. "Rose, this is going to sound weird, but when you see the bolt gun, grab it and don't drop it for anything. You're gonna need it."

Rose was puzzled, but she knew better than to question it. The group made their way out of the room, though Ember did pause to kneel beside the nearest Ood and rest her hand on its head.

"I'm sorry." She murmured, knowing what was going to become of them. She wished she could help them, but it was already too late. She stood and ran to catch up with the rest of the group, and they soon reached the drilling area where they met up with Zach.

Rose went straight to the communicator. "Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me?"

"The comms are still down." Zach said, going to the terminal. "I can patch them through the central desk and boost the signal. Just give me a minute."

Rose waited until Zach got the comms back up and running before she spoke into the communicator again. "Are you there, Doctor?"

_"...__He's gone."_ Ida's voice made Rose's blood go cold.

"What do you mean, he's gone?"

_"He fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles..."_

"But what do you mean, he fell?"

_"I couldn't stop him. Ember... He said your name..."_

Ember lowered her head, closing her eyes. She knew he wasn't dead, but...

Zach took the communicator from Rose. "I'm sorry. Ida? There's no way of reaching you. No cable, No back up. You're ten miles down. We can't get there."

Ida's sigh was heard through the comm_. "You should see this place, Zach. It's beautiful... Well, I wanted to discover things, and here I am."_

"We've got to abandon the base. I'm declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again."

_"But we'll never find out what it was."_

"Well, maybe that's best."

_"...Yeah."_

Zach sighed. "Officer Scott-"

_"__It's all right."_ Ida cut him off. _"Just go. Good luck."_

"And you." Zach lowered the comm. "Danny, Toby, close down the feed links. Get the retrotropes online, then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We're leaving."

Rose turned to him. "I'm not going."

"Rose, there's space for you and Ember."

"No, I'm going to wait for the Doctor. Just like he waited for me."

"I'm sorry, but... he's dead."

Rose shook her head. "You don't know him. 'Cause he's not... I'm telling you, he's not... And even if he was, how could I leave him all on his own, all the way down there? No, I'm going to stay."

"...Then I apologise for this." Zach looked that the remaining members of his crew. "Danny, Toby? Make her secure."

Rose struggled as Danny and Toby grabbed her by the arms, holding her still as Zach got a syringe from a new kit. "No, no. No! No! No! Let me go! Get off me! I'm not leaving!"

Zach didn't listen, injecting the contents of the syringe into the blonde's arm. The other two men held Rose up as she fell unconscious. "I have lost too many people. I am not leaving you behind." He turned to Ember. "Do I have to sedate you too?"

Ember shook her head. "As much as I don't wanna go, I know better. We have to get out."

Nodding, Zach pulled Rose over his shoulder to carry her. "Let's get her on board."

"It is time."

Ember turned at the voice. There, just before the door out of the drill room, the red-cloaked man was standing, now holding what looked like a staff made of wood or metal, she couldn't tell. She glanced at the rest of the guys, to find that they didn't seem to have noticed the new arrival at all.

"They cannot see or hear me." He pointed out. "It's better not to stress them more than they are already, and I don't want to set _him_ off too early."

Ember tilted her head, having an idea who the 'him' was. "Time for what?"

The hood almost mimicked her own tilt. "It is time to show you what you really are."

The burning sensation suddenly appeared, Ember's eyes widening. "Oh no!"

"What?" Zach said, turning to see the brunette's body begin to emit a light. "What's going on?"

"I'm... teleporting!" Ember said the first thing that came to her head, waving her watch vaguely. "It's ok! Just look after Rose!"

She jumped before she could say anything else, leaving the three men to blink in puzzlement at the space she'd left behind.

Only one of them then narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

* * *

The burning sensation left Ember quickly, but wherever she was now, it was dark and humid. She could already feel the sweat sticking her shirt to her back, and pulled off her denim jacket to tie it around her waist with the sleeves. "Where am I?"

"Deep below the surface of Kroptor." Ember turned to find the cloaked man was only a few feet away from her. He approached slowly, passing her and moving to stand at the wall. "We are near the cell where He is restrained, at least in body."

Ember thought for a moment before her eyes widened. "Where's the Doctor?"

The man turned, pointing his staff. There, just to the side and easily missed if one didn't look, was the Doctor, lying still.

"Doctor!" Ember cried, running to his side instantly. The glass front of his helmet was smashed and he was unconscious, but otherwise he looked relatively unharmed. "Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor!"

The Time Lord gasped, opening his eyes as he awoke to Ember's calls. With a rough cough, he moved slightly and was puzzled to find the brunette knelt beside him, her face furrowed in worry. "...Ember?"

"Oh, thank god!" Ember whispered, unknowingly in the same role Rose had been just a short while ago. "Are you alright?"

"Yea, I think so..." The Doctor slowly pushed himself to his feet with Ember assisting him, and then he looked up at the shaft he'd fallen down. It only took another moment before a thought occurred to him and he whipped round to face Ember. "How did you get down here?"

Ember shrugged, gesturing behind her. "I jumped, but it looks like I had a little lift too."

The Doctor blinked, puzzled, before he followed her gesture and spotted their extra company. To Ember's surprise, his whole posture changed to that of something dangerous as he quickly pulled the brunette behind him. "You! What are you doing here?"

"You know him?" Ember asked, confused by the Doctor's sudden aggression.

"We only met once; on the Gamestation, just before I regenerated. You?"

"On Satellite Five the first time round. I met him while you were talking to Cathica and Suki. Then a few times after that." Ember replied. "But why are you angry?"

The hooded man answered. "It is to be expected. The Doctor's only encounter with me at this point in his timeline was not entirely pleasant."

"That's putting it mildly," the Doctor said. "She almost died because of you!"

Ember's first thought was that he meant Rose, but then the hooded man's reply threw her off. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. She chose to help the Bad Wolf fulfill her role in the timeline. I was merely a guiding hand."

"But who are you?" Ember asked. She tried to step around the Doctor, but his arm quickly blocked her off. "You said you were a friend. At least tell me your name?"

There was a pause as the man's hood tilted again. "Like yourself, I have had countless names and labels over the eons, many of them lost to time. But I suppose if I have to pick one for you to use, then you may call me... Arsene."

"Alright, Arsene," The Doctor said, clearly not interested with whatever name they'd been given to call him by. "How about telling us what you're doing here, and why you brought Ember down here?"

The man - Arsene - turned to face the wall again, looking up at something. "Because this is one of the few places in the universe that has any physical insight of Miss Ember's roots, so to speak."

Ember looked up at the wall that Arsene was facing, taking in the faded marks of murals on the walls. She knew there were some down here, but the ones she was looking at were not the ones from the show. These ones were more degraded than the ones she'd seen, fading to a point where it was difficult to make it out, but she was almost certain she could see the crude images of people, arms raised toward something above them. Something that looked like a circle of black...

With a start, she realised that she recognised that circle. She moved to roll up her sleeve, only to get frustrated when it refused to go further than her elbow. "Doctor, can you rip fabric?"

"What?" The Doctor looked at her in puzzlement, only to see what she was trying to do. "Oh. Yea, I can. Why?"

"I think that circle is on my arm," Ember said, unrolling her sleeve before holding her arm out to him. "Can you rip the sleeve? I don't care if you take the whole sleeve off."

The Doctor hesitated, but then saw the determination in her eyes, and he nodded. Putting his left hand on her shoulder to steady her, his right hand grabbed as much of the cloth as it could hold before he tugged harshly. It didn't come off the first time, like it did in movies, but Ember felt the stitches tear at the shoulder, and then the whole sleeve was ripped off on the second attempt, leaving her left arm bare except for the watch on her wrist.

After tossing aside the scrap of cloth, the Doctor gently took her arm and turned it so he could see the Mark on her bicep. Ember herself had to crane her head slightly, but she was surprised to see that the Mark was now even darker. It could no longer be mistaken for a bruise now, but a perfect circle of what could now be assumed as a tattoo. Within the circle, another image was clearer than ever; it looked like a bird or some other long-necked animal, head reared as though roaring, and wings spread out.

"What...?" The Doctor murmured as he looked at the mural again. The paint had faded too much over time to be sure of what it was depicting, but the circle the people were raising their arms to was very similar to the one on Ember's arm; too much so to be a coincidence. He turned angry eyes to Arsene, who had been silent the whole time. "What does that mean? What is that mural about?"

"It depicts the most ancient of races, worshipped and revered by the beginnings of the lesser races. When the great beast threatened to end all life before it could begin, the people prayed for a saviour." Arsene replied calmly. "But you already knew that, did you not? That Ember was one of them."

Ember looked at the Doctor, her arm trembling in his grasp. "You knew?"

The Doctor looked away. "I had suspicions. I've seen this Mark at this stage before. Something about it was familiar, but I couldn't find anything concrete to prove anything. I couldn't tell you, because you said to me that we find out for certain at the same time."

"Then what am I?" Ember asked. She looked between the Doctor and Arsene, her eyes stinging with tears she was determined not to shed. "What am I?"

"You are part Time Lord, physically." Arsene said after a moment. "But the rest of you... You are from the one race that the Time Lords cannot surpass, regardless of their knowledge and power. When those ancient people cried for help, _you_ were the one who answered. You, Ember... are an Eternal."

Ember blinked, the tears now unnoticed as she stood in shock at what she'd just heard. That name was familiar, like she'd known it all along and just didn't realise it until it was in her face.

_Eternal..._

"I said I had a suspicion, but I didn't think it was actually possible," the Doctor said, narrowing his eyes at Arsene. "You're saying she's half Time Lord and half Eternal? Is that even possible?"

Arsene tilted his head. "Not in the traditional sense, but yes. She is the first of her kind, and is most likely going to be the last of her kind as well." He turned to the mural again, raising the staff to point at the symbols. "Do you see this, Ember?"

The brunette looked up at the symbols, and what happened next shocked her: the symbols that were in four distinct groups around the circle made perfect sense in her head, and she could read them!

_On the wind..._

_In the earth..._

_Below the water..._

_Through the fire..._

"How...?" Ember murmured, seemingly unaware that she'd even spoken.

Arsene lowered the staff. "Because you now know what you are, you can read our language."

Ember turned her eyes away from the words with difficulty. "But... I wasn't born this way, so how did...?"

"I cannot tell you exactly why or how this happened, as it is not my story to tell, but you will remember in time. What I can tell you is that you were one of oldest of our race, and I have known you for far longer than you currently recall."

Ember blinked again, looking at him. "You said 'our language', 'our race'... Are you...?"

"Yes. I am also an Eternal. But unlike you, I have no other races in my blood. Thus I am bound by laws, like the others. You, my dearest Ember, are no longer bound by such laws. As your power awakens, you will be the Judgement upon this world and all others. That is why I am here; to guide you as you awaken to your powers."

Ember looked at the Doctor, who was watching her with dark eyes that showed just how old he was. "And the Doctor? What's his part in this?"

Arsene turned to fully face them. "Time Lord blood runs through you. You have three elements that Eternals were never supposed to possess. I can only guide you on what you are as an Eternal; The Doctor, being the only one left who can, is to guide you on what it means to be a Time Lord. At the most important moments in time and space, you will have a choice: To save the worlds or condemn them."

"Three elements." Ember repeated. "As in like fire and the others?"

"No, I mean factors. Eternals are powerful, but they have flaws. You do not have those flaws, which makes you more powerful but equally more dangerous. These factors will be tested as you grow."

"And when will I know when I need to choose?"

Arsene smiled, the action barely visible from under the hood. "When the times come for you to choose, you will know."

Ember looked away, her eyes looking at the ground but not seeing it. This was a lot to take in.

The Doctor moved so that he faced the brunette, his back to Arsene. His hand gently took her chin, turning her to look at him, and felt his hearts ache at the turmoil he could see in her eyes. "I know this may not mean much, but I promise: I will always be there for you."

"No, it means a lot," Ember replied, lifting her hand to wipe her face. The Doctor would have offered a hanky if he wasn't in the spacesuit right now. The brunette looked around the Doctor to speak again, only to blink in puzzlement. "Where'd he go?"

The Doctor turned, to find that they were alone in the dark chamber. Arsene was nowhere to be seen. "Ugh, I hate it when they do that."

Ember looked up at him. "I think I've read somewhere that you've met Eternals before..."

"Yea, though not very often." The Doctor admitted. "Most of them were the same: think of rich, snobbish people who don't care who they hurt as long as they're entertained."

"Does that mean that... I was snobbish too?" Ember asked.

The Doctor gently put his hands on her shoulders, making her look him in the eye. "I said most of them. You are definitely not snobbish. You're one of the most caring people I've ever met."

Ember looked away, a small blush on her face. "Thanks. We need to talk about this, but now isn't the time: We've got a job to do down here. And here's a hint: Time Lord or not, we should have suffocated by now."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he quickly caught on, pulling the busted helmet off his head before looking up at the shaft again. "We're breathing... Air cushion to support the fall. You can breathe down here, Ida. Can you hear me, Ida?"

Ember shook her head as he tried to contact the woman he'd left on the surface. "Sorry, but I'm not sure if she can. They never showed either way."

The Doctor was about to answer when there was low rumble, and they looked up as they saw the faint outline of something in the sky far above. "The rocket..."

"The guys and Rose are safe." Ember said softly. "Let's hope she remembers what I told her..."

The two of them watched for a moment longer before turning and heading down one of the passages that dotted the area. The Doctor used his torch to light their way as well as to see various more paintings on the walls depicting stick people fighting what looked like a demon. These were the ones Ember had seen on tv.

"The history of some big battle. Man against Beast. I don't know if you're getting this, Ida. Hope so." He silently sent a prayer that she did. "Ember, you can read this now, right?"

Ember nodded, looking at the symbols carefully. Now she understood why the ones Toby had written on the wall didn't look right; the letters had really been in the wrong order. "A great beast threatened all life before it could even begin. The first - or early, it might say either - mortals prayed to the gods for salvation, and... they were answered. The beast was imprisoned in this pit, forever trapped beneath a black hole."

The Doctor noticed her hesitation, but didn't get to ask as they reached a massive cavern that opened up in front of them. Near the ledge were two bronze runs on pedestals, and after realising they looked familiar, he turned his light to the wall again, to find the same urns as a picture on the stone.

"Maybe that's the key." He murmured, reaching out to touch one of the urns. They both lit up at the touch. "Or the gate, or the bars..."

There was another rumble, but this one was more like a low growl. Ember pulled the Doctor back slightly as an impossibly huge, horned creature appeared from the chasm and looked at them. It was chained to the walls by its horns and limbs, keeping it from reaching them as it growled.

"And here we have the truth behind the myth," Ember said. "The very thing every culture and religion believed to be the evil of their worlds."

The Doctor frowned as he looked at the creature. "I accept that you exist. I don't have to accept what you are, but your physical existence, I'll give you that. I don't understand. We were expected down here. I was given a safe landing and air. You need us for something. What for?"

The beast growled and attempted to reach out, only to get stopped by the chains.

"Have I got to... I don't know, beg an audience? Or is there a ritual? Some sort of incantation or summons or spell? All these things I don't believe in, are they real? Speak to me! Tell me!"

The beast didn't answer verbally, but growled and tugged the chains again.

"You won't talk." The Doctor murmured, and then realisation dawned on his face. "Or you _can't_ talk. Oh, hold on, wait a minute, just let me. Oh! No. Yes! No. Think it through. You spoke before. I heard your voice. An intelligent voice. No, more than that. Brilliant! But, looking at you now, all I can see..." the creature hissed, extending a long, forked tongue. "... is Beast. The animal. Just the body. You're just the body, the physical form. What's happened to your mind, hmm? Where's it gone? Where's that intelligence?" He looked at Ember as it all came together, her expression confirming it. "Oh, no..."

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Ember said, shaking her head as it throbbed again. "It's still in Toby. It's been causing my headaches, trying to stop me from helping or telling you the truth."

The Doctor turned, looking thoughtful, and then moved to look at the paintings again, putting it in order in his own head and saying it out loud as he did so. "You were imprisoned, long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in between, doesn't matter. The prison is perfect. It's absolute, it's eternal... Oh, yes! Open the prison, the gravity field collapses. This planet falls into the black hole! You escape, you die. Brilliant! But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is an idea. In all those civilisations, just an idea. But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind. The mind of the great Beast. The mind can escape!" Suddenly it made sense. "Oh, but that's it! You didn't give me air, your jailers did! They set this up all those years ago! They need me alive, because if you're escaping, then I've got to stop you!" He grabbed a large rick as the beast snarled in apparent rage. "If I destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it!"

He raised the rock to smash one of the urns, but then he hesitated, dropping it. "But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket... The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole. I have to sacrifice Rose."

Ember frowned as the Beast before them seemed to laugh, as though it was intelligent enough to know what was going on. "That's why he didn't just kill us all. He knew that to escape, he'd need leverage: a hostage."

"So, that's the trap. Or the test, or the final judgment, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill her. Except that implies, in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils, that she's just a victim." The Doctor glanced at Ember, seeing her nod before he looked at the Beast. "But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods. And out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing... I believe in _her_."

With that, he picked up the rock again, this time didn't hesitate, and smashed the urn closest to him. He was about to do the same to the other one when Ember beat him to it, only she just shoved it off the pedestal to smash on the ground.

"I warned you!" She yelled, facing the Beast head on as it roared in rage. "You want out of your prison?! Well here it is!"

"This is your freedom!" The Doctor added. "Free to die! You're going into that black hole and we're riding with you!"

The beast snarled, fire beginning to build up in its mouth. Ember surprised the Doctor by grabbing his hand. "No, we're not! We have a ride of our own!"

She pulled him back, and they'd just reached the passageway when they heard something and looked back, only to see fire engulfing the passage, about to cover them.

"No!" Ember cried, moving to stand between the Doctor and the flames. To the Doctor's surprise, the flames curved and bent around them like they had some kind of invisible bubble or shield. The sight gave Ember confidence, that instinct at the edge of her consciousness fueling words. "I am the Great Fire! You are tiny! A speck of dirt on an otherwise beautiful universe! I put you here, and I banish you now!"

The flames suddenly turned, going back the way they'd come, and they were sure they could hear the Beast now roaring in pain.

The Doctor saw the warning sign a split second before Ember collapsed, catching her in his arms and holding her up. "Ember!"

"Tardis..." she gasped, her eyes barely open. "It's here..."

She passed out before she could say anything else.

* * *

_She ignored his cries of rage, his vows to return, as she turned away from his prison. Another presence walked by her side, and she could sense his old age like a tang in the air._

_"Thank you, Great One," he spoke in a rasp, his voice rough with age. "We are forever in your debt."_

_"Do not thank me. You are the ones who stood up: it was your prayers that called to me." She replied, walking to where one of her own stood waiting: She'd known him for a long time. "You and your people will learn to grow on your own."_

_The old man looked conflicted. "You will not guide us? How would we live without your grace?"_

_She smiled kindly. "If you lived in my grace, it is not truly living. I have faith in you."_

_"And what of the Beast? He is enchained, but what if he one day becomes free?"_

_"Should he ever escape his prison, he will fall into the abyss. This is his punishment, and should he end it, he will end." She turned to the old man. "As for you and this universe... it has only just begun. And I will watch it grow."_

* * *

Ember took a breath and opened her eyes, finding herself in the Tardis, sat on the captains chair. The ship was shaking a bit, but not as much as usual, though she didn't know how she was still in her seat. The Doctor, still in the spacesuit, was at the controls, and Ida was sat on the floor nearby, unconscious but alive.

Ember was about to speak when the Doctor did so first. "Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship Tardis. Now, first thing's first. Have you got a Rose Tyler on board?"

_"I'm here! It's me!"_ Rose's voice made Ember breathe a sigh of relief. _"Oh, my God. Ember jumped! Where are you?"_

"She's with me, she's fine," the Doctor said. "I'm just towing you home. Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain? Can we do a swap? Say, if you give me Rose Tyler, I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?"

_"She's alive?"_ Zach said, very pleasantly surprised.

Danny was just as ecstatic._ "Yes! Thank God!"_

"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip." The Doctor allowed a moment to be somber. "They went down with the planet."

"It's fine," Ember finally spoke, making him turn and grin at her in relief. "They were living a fate worse than death. One we're going to rectify one day. I promised them."

The Doctor took her hand as soon as she was close enough, giving her a fond smile that made her blush and look away. He allowed her the moment as he focused on the beeping console. "Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed."

* * *

After trading Ida for Rose and sending the remaining team on their way, the trio of travelers were off again.

Rose had gone to shower and have a rest, so the Doctor was left wondering where Ember had gone. He tried to wait, but it wasn't long before he was searching for the brunette. He found her in the library, an open book in her hands and frowning to herself.

"Are you alright?"

Ember glanced at him before she looked at the book she was holding, snapping it closed with a huff. "You've got the biggest collection of books in the universe, baring one rival, and yet I can't find a thing on Eternals."

"Well, you wouldn't." The Doctor replied as he walked over to a large armchair and seated himself. "Eternals are as the name says. There's never been much history behind them, mainly because they don't tend to hang around this realm of existence. This is apparently 'too small' for them."

Ember looked at him as she put the book back where she found it. She then moved to sit on the carpet in front of him, tucking her legs in and wrapping her arms around her knees. "Can you tell me something?"

"Well, I've only met a few of them myself, and anything I know, you've probably already read about."

"There wasn't much on them." Ember said. "Just that they can create things and are telepathic. They see everyone else as 'Ephemerals', and get ther amusement by watching them or making them do things to entertain them."

The Doctor nodded. "They can manipulate thoughts to influence behaviour, or even make someone forget they were even there. One of the old bedtime stories was that they were always watching, but apparently that isn't true. They can't seem to use telepathy over long distances or if the target has a strong mind."

"Like you?"

"Like me. I once used the Time Vortex to turn one of them into an Ephemeral, but that was one-time thing, and other than that I don't know of any physical way of beating them. Where they lack the imagination and creativity, they make up for it by using ours. They get bored otherwise."

Ember looked at her feet. "And somehow... I'm the one who put the Beast in the pit, before I lost my memories and became... this. But... why me? I'm not special, or important. Why was I chosen to have this power?"

"Who said you weren't important?"

That made Ember look up at the Doctor, who was now leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he looked at her. His dark eyes seemed to hold a storm, and she briefly wondered if that was how he got his nickname. Strangely, it didn't frighten her at all. "Um, well, I... tend to think that myself."

The Doctor moved again, this time kneeling in front of her. His hand gently held her chin, making sure she was looking at him as he spoke. "You are special, Ember. And you're so, so important. Not just to the universe, but to me. I don't know where I'd be right now if you hadn't been there by my side. And I am more than willing to keep telling you that until you believe it."

For a long moment, they just sat there, and it seemed that everything around them just disappeared. Ember felt her breath hitch as the Doctor suddenly leaned in close and put his lips over hers; a gentle kiss that didn't escalate until she started it, to which he gladly reciprocated.

A familiar burning started up at that moment, and she really wished she didn't have to go. The Doctor pulled back to look at her fondly.

"I'll see you soon," he said gently, before she jumped.

* * *

And there! Not only is one of Ember's mysteries revealed, but we now have a name for the red-cloaked stranger, and what he is to boot!

For those of you who have not watched the episodes from the First Doctor to the Eighth, yes, there is really a race known as Eternals. In the recent series (from 9th Doctor onwards), They've only been mentioned in passing on a few occasions, but from what I've read about them, they can be very dangerous, as they're practically godlike in their powers. Let it feed your imagination on why Ember is part Time Lord. What made her this way? Why? What makes her different from a full Eternal like Arsene? Well, the only way you'll find out is to stick with the saga!

Next Time: Ember doesn't get a chance for a break, as she's got to stop war breaking out between two races. But how do you do that when you can't tell one race from the other? Stay Tuned!


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight: The Zygon Invasion

Okay, and here's another last minute change! I was going to have this saga finish on chapter 25, but I've had a couple of ideas that warranted me changing a few bits. Including this one, there are three chapters left of this saga.

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Twenty Eight: The Zygon Invasion

* * *

Ember was not in a good mood, even as she sat on a swing in a children's park. She'd only just found out what she really was, and yet she wasn't even given a chance to fully absorb it because of this erratic jumping. She was currently sitting on a bench in what looked like a more children's park on Earth.

One question had finally been answered. She was a hybrid of two mighty races. Time Lord... and Eternal.

But that was an answer to only one question; she still had many more in mind. How and why did she become this hybrid? Who was she before? Why couldn't she remember? Why did she jump around the timelines seemingly at random, and why specifically the Doctor's? These questions made her head hurt just trying to figure it out.

Her watch chose that moment to beep, bringing her out of her thoughts. On reflex, she searched her pockets for the little bottle of medication she was to take, but when she found it, she blinked at the sight of there being only a few doses left. Did she really go through the whole bottle already? Why hadn't she noticed before?

Another question she'd probably have to wait forever to get an answer to. Just what she needed.

"Ember?"

That made the brunette look up, blinking again when she saw the Twelth Doctor approaching her. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed him until he saw her first. "Oh. Hi."

The Doctor tilted his head, watching her carefully as she took one of the pills without water. "Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong, as such. Just very confused and a bit frustrated." Ember replied. She held up the bottle and shook it. "I'm running out of meds."

"That's a sign." The Doctor said, moving to sit on the swing next to her. "It means you're nearly at the point of not needing them anymore."

That made Ember look at him. "Is that good or bad?"

"Depends on how you look at it."

"And which way should I be looking?"

"Spoilers."

Ember frowned, looking away to kick at the dirt under her shoes before she spoke again, shifting the left shoulder of her jacket to show the missing sleeve underneath. "I just found out what I am. I'm part Eternal."

The Doctor simply nodded.

"So once upon a time, I was essentially a god so powerful that I answered the prayers of one of the earliest civilisations and imprisoned the Beast in a forever trap that would kill him if he ever escaped." Ember continued. "And then sometime after that, I'm suddenly this... hybrid."

"That's pretty much the size of it." The Doctor said, though she didn't notice that he slightly tended up.

"But why?"

"I don't know." His reply got a look from the brunette. "Really, I don't. Wherever and however you started, I haven't seen it yet."

Ember huffed. "And you know nothing about me?"

"... I didn't say that. But I can't tell you what I've seen, because you haven't done it yet. Timelines and all that."

"Yeah. Story of my life." The brunette sighed, willing herself to calm down. Yes, he probably had several of the answers she was looking for, but she couldn't fault him for keeping them from her. After all, wasn't she doing the same with his own future?

The Doctor shifted, bringing her out of her thoughts and making her look around. They had been alone in the park, but now a group of school children were approaching, escorted by two female teachers. Ember was about to ask what he'd seen when he pulled out a mobile phone from his pocket and pressed a speed dial. A few moments later, Clara's voice could be heard on the other end, as an automated voice message.

_"Hi, this is Clara Oswald. I'm probably on the Tube or in outer space. Leave a message!"_

The Doctor spoke as soon as the beep sounded. "Hello, it's Doctor Disco. I'm in the twenty first century. I don't know what month. I'm staking out some of the most dangerous creatures imaginable."

Ember blinked, following his gaze to the school children... where two little girls were staring back at them. Both had long, blonde hair in pigtails, though one one girl was shorter than the other.

"Operating under deep cover. Trying not to attract suspicion. Give me a call, Clara. Nightmare Scenario. I'm worried."

"Nightmare Scenario?" Ember repeated, puzzled. "That sounds familiar..."

The Doctor stood up. "Have you run into Zygons yet?"

That brought it back. She could remember where this was now. "Oh. The Zygon Invasion. And no, I haven't met the Zygons or the War Doctor yet."

Nodding, the Doctor took her hand and led her over to where the little girls had separated from the other children to climb on a set of monkey bars. "Okay. Hey, Monster High and Cinderella. Down off the monkey bars. Listen to me. We've got to talk."

"Please," Ember added as the Time Lord climbed up the monkey bars himself. She decided to stay on the ground.

"Look, I admire you, okay? I think you're ingenious. Pretending to be a couple of seven year olds is a splendid way to conceal your blobbiness. But let's not pretend. You're very blobby. In fact, you two are the big blobs. And you are not patrolling the ceasefire." The girls didn't reply, and instead climbed down the monkey bars. The Doctor opted to take the slide. "Fine. Fine, bury your heads. Listen to me. Listen! There are other factions. I know that there are other blobby factions that you don't control. They're planning something. And if we don't get together and stop it, it'll be the end of this. Of all of you."

For a moment it looked like a case of mistaken identity, but then one of the girls spoke. "This is our jurisdiction, Doctor. These are our creatures. We are close to finding them."

"They are our children, and we will deal with them." The other girl added.

"Your kids are out of control. I'm taking this out of your hands." The Doctor's phone rang, and he straightened. "Don't even think about going anywhere. Ember, stay with them."

As he walked away to answer the phone, Ember turned to the two girls. "We can help you. You must know who I am, right?"

"We know who you are, Mother." The first girl replied.

"Don't call me that, especially when you look like kids. I'm no mum."

"You are the Mother of Elements." The second girl said.

"Yes, not Mother of Every Species That Thinks I'm A God," Ember shot back. "So what did I do that make you call me that?"

The first girl tilted her head. "Have you witnessed the treaty yet?"

"No, I haven't been there yet."

"Then we cannot tell you."

Ember sighed, closing her eyes and looking away. "Yeah, I thought you'd say that."

Something moved in the corner of her eye, and she turned to see a red, alien-looking pod land on the grass before a thick, red smoke began pouring out of it, quickly covering the area and obscuring vision.

"Hey! Away! Away!" The Doctor's voice could be heard. "Get those kids out of the way! Out of the way! Out of the way! Out of the way! Move! Out of the way!"

Ember turned to the girls, her hearts jumping into her throat when she saw two large aliens - red skinned and covered in suckers - appear behind them. She moved without thinking, grabbing the shorter girl and yanking her away as the other girl was grabbed by one of the aliens. The other alien stepped forward with a growl, but the brunette threw out her hand and made a breeze go by. She would have used fire, but she couldn't tell if the gas around them would ignite. The breeze she'd made didn't disperse the gas, but rather pushed it away to form an 'eye of the storm' effect so that she could see the aliens while everyone outside the circle would still be blinded.

"I'll expose you right now if you don't let her go!" She called.

The alien that had the girl turned away, using the gas for cover as it carried its hostage to a parked maintenance van. The second alien snarled at Ember before following.

Ember flinched when a hand landed on her shoulder, though she relaxed when she realised it was the Doctor.

The girl in her arms cried.

* * *

A short time later, after the Doctor had put the girl in a secure location, he and Ember made their way to a UNIT safe house where they met with Kate Stewart. There was no time for pleasantries, as they were immediately shown a video message that had been sent to them.

It was of Osgood, reading from an obviously prepared statement. She had a Zygon standing on either side of her, and a black, three-fingered symbol was painted on the wall behind her.

_"UNIT troops will be destroyed wherever they are in the world." _She said._ "The enemies of our race will be destroyed wherever they are in the world. The war is about to begin. There will be truth... or there will be consequences."_

The Doctor tried phoning Clara again, only to get put to voicemail once more. "Call me now."

Kate turned to Ember. "Where's Claudette?"

"Safe." The brunette replied. "Sorry, but I'm not telling where she is. If they find her, she's dead."

The Doctor turned to face them. "We need to get to the command centre. Where did they hide it?"

* * *

Another short time later, the Time Lords were escorted by Kate to what looked like an ordinary junior school in Dulwich. The metal plaque outside said 'Drakeman Junior School'. They'd also picked up Clara on the way, though no one noticed that Ember was descreetly trying to keep as far away from her as possible.

"This is where the Zygon High Command had their secret base." Kate explained.

"A junior school?" Clara asked, puzzled as they entered the school. On the walls were the typical collages expected in a school, including a picture of the two little girls.

"Terms of the settlement, Operation Double, were these. Twenty million Zygons, the entire hatchery, were allowed to be born and to stay on Earth. They were permitted to permanently take up the form of the nearest available human beings."

A dark skinned woman who was walking with them - Jac, she was introduced as - spoke up. She was carrying a computer tablet. "In this case, a large percentage of the population of the UK."

Kate led the group straight to the boiler room in the school, using her own intel to lead them. "You left us with an impossible situation, Doctor."

"Yes, I know. It's called peace." The Doctor quipped as they walked through the dark and warm room. "What about the two little girl commanders? Weren't they helping you?"

"They've been almost impossible to deal with since Osgood left. Secretive, uncommunicative. We've known there's something going on. Some radicalisation, some revolution in the younger brood. They said they had it under control."

Ember huffed. "They don't know who to trust. Can't blame them."

They found a hole in the brick wall in the far corner of the boiler room and stepped through one by one, finding themselves in what looked like a cavern that had red cords or cables running up the walls and across the ceiling. In the centre of the cavern was a large blob with spike-like protrusions sticking out of it. There was no natural light, but the group each had a torch to see.  
"The Zygon command centre." The Doctor explained. "That's the control polyp for all Zygons on Earth."

"It's horrible." Jac said, looking a bit nauseous.

The Doctor held out his torch to Clara. "Could you? Would you mind? Thank you." When she took the torch, he approached the polyp, splashing a liquid from the centre onto the spikes and then handling them carefully. "If this has been compromised, the Zygons are wide open. They'll be starting to panic. Starting to worry."

Clara looked uncomfortable. "Doctor... do you wanna be alone with that thing?"

"It's a command computer. You operate it by titivating the fronds."

"...Are you enjoying that?"

"I snogged a Zygon once. Old habits."

"I hope you used mouthwash before you kissed the next person," Ember quipped.

The Doctor turned and gave her a flirty wink that made her blush. "You've made a habit of making sure we both carry mouthwash infused gum so that I could snog you."

"T-too much information!"

Before the Doctor could make a comeback, several screens came to life above the polyp, showing various parts of the world. "Still got the old magic."

Clara shook her head with a fond smile before she got them back on track. "So, Osgood's been kidnapped, right? I thought Osgood was dead."

"There've always been two of her, ever since the ceasefire." Kate replied. "We never knew which one was real."

"Both of them." The Doctor and Ember said at the same time.

"Okay, which one was Zygon..."

"Both of them." The Time Lords said again before the Doctor elaborated. "They would have maintained a live link. They were both Zygon and human at the same time. They not only administered the peace, they _were_ the peace."

"When the other Osgood died, the survivor went pretty much mad with grief." Jac added in. "Then she just disappeared. Went undercover in the States. Now, of course, the rebels have her."

The Doctor had been fiddling with the spikes a bit more before he found what he was looking for on the screens. "Ah ha! Okay. Zygons hatched and dispersed all over, but something's gone wrong. Mexico border, North Asia, West Africa, Australia. Panic. Paranoia. What would happen if they knew who we were?"

"Mass panic." Ember said, tilting her head as she felt a faint throb at her temple. "People getting scared, not knowing who's who. Panic instills fear, which leads to violence and mistakes."

There was a beep from the tablet Jac was carrying, and she looked at it. "We've received another video."

Ember stood next to the Doctor as they gathered around the tablet, making sure that she wasn't next to Clara. They all looked at the screen to see a video feed of some dark room. The camera was facing the kidnapped blonde girl.

"That's the Zygon High Command." Kate breathed. "It's Jemima."

_"We have been betrayed."_ A Zygon spoke off camera. _"We were sold. Our rights were violated. We demand the right to be ourselves. Normalise. Normalise!"_

Jemima's body morphed, becoming a Zygon. Then the arm of another Zygon could be seen from the side as it used some kind of electric attack, reducing Jemima to a pile of sparking dust.

The camera then moved to point at another Zygon, who hissed at them. _"We are now the Zygon High Command. All traitors will die. Truth or consequences."_

The Doctor took a breath. "So, we have a Zygon revolution on our hands. We need to open negotiations."

"I'm not negotiating with them." Kate said immediately. "As far as they're concerned, everyone's a traitor."

Clara looked at her. "If you're not going to negotiate, what are you going to do?"

"They're holed up in this settlement in Turmezistan. It's where they've taken Osgood. I'm going to order Colonel Walsh to bomb it."

The Doctor looked like he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Isn't there a solution that doesn't involve bombing everyone?"

"The treaty's been comprehensively violated, Doctor."

"This is a splinter group. The rest of the Zygons, the vast majority, they want to live in peace. You start bombing them, you'll radicalise the lot. That's exactly what the splinter group wants."

"They're counting on your own actions to turn the rest of them to their cause," Ember added.

"Truth or consequences..." Jac mused, remembering the line that been mentioned twice now. "What exactly does that mean?"

Kate shook her head. "It's just the usual kind of nonsense these idiots call themselves."

"It's in New Mexico." Clara suddenly said.

"What?"

"It's a town in New Mexico. Truth or Consequences. Uh... they renamed it after a TV show, for a bet or something. It's a Trivial Pursuit question. I used to memorise Trivial Pursuit questions so I could win."

"That's the last place we received signal from Osgood's phone, isn't it?" Kate asked Jac, who nodded. "New Mexico."

The Doctor straightened. "Okay. Kate Stewart, no bombs for you. Go to Truth Or Consequences. See what you can find out. The Doctor and Ember will go to Turmezistan. Negotiate peace, rescue Osgood, and prevent this war, cos that's what we do. Clara, Jac, you stay here. This is your country. Protect it from the scary monsters. And also from the Zygons."

Clara nodded. "Fine."

The Doctor made to leave the room, taking Ember by the hand to pull her with him, but then he paused and looked back at Kate. "Oh, and do you still have the presidential aircraft?"

"I thought you didn't like being President of the World." Clara pointed out.

"No, but I like poncing about in a big plane."

Ember smirked. Only the Doctor.

* * *

It was night by the time they reached an airport that had the presidential aircraft ready to go. The Doctor, with his Sonic sunglasses on, couldn't resist doing a pose before he and Ember got on the plane, and it wasn't long before they were in the air and on their way to Turmezistan.

"Any hints?" The Doctor asked Ember as they sat looking out of the windows of the plane.

Ember bit her lip. "This isn't going to go as smoothly as they planned. The Zygons have gotten intel, and already know who's going to be there and what they can do to stop them."

"Is Osgood alive?"

"Yes. And she's still there."

The Doctor tilted his head. "How do the Zygons know who's there already?"

Ember looked out of the window, her lip now stinging slightly as she bit it hard enough to draw blood. "Because the splinter group has gotten deeper then you expect. This is going to be rough."

She didn't see the Doctor move closer, so she jumped slightly when he reached out to touch her lip with his thumb. She met his gaze, surprised to see the fond look, though it was even more surprising when he leaned forward and kissed her. She felt the stinging in her lip disappear with a tingle before he pulled away, and she didn't need to see to know that he'd healed it.

"You shouldn't waste your regeneration energy like that," she said as he pulled away with a smirk. "Even I don't know how much you were given."

The Doctor shrugged, still looking pleased with himself. "Doesn't matter. I don't consider it a waste if it's you."

Ember blushed, looking out of the window again.

* * *

It didn't take nearly as long as Ember had expected to reach Turmezistan, where two Land Rovers and several UNIT officers were waiting to escort the Time Lords to the command base that they had set up near what looked like a small, remote village.

As they reached the checkpoint, Ember got out of the Land Rover and looked around, eyeing the beautiful view of the snow capped mountain in the distant skyline on an otherwise barren desert. She waited for the Doctor to reach her side before they approached one of the tents, noticing a drone aircraft being equipped with what looked like missiles.

They entered the tent as they heard a female officer reporting from her place at a terminal. "Approaching target at 1-00-65-12. Confirm strike order?"

"Order confirmed." Another female replied. Her uniform and red beret gave away that she was the one in charge.

"At ease." The Doctor said, gaining everyone's attention. "I'm the President of the World. I'm here to rescue people and generally establish happiness all over the place. The Doctor. Doctor Funkenstein."

"Yes, we know who you are." The higher rank female said dryly. "I'm Colonel Walsh."

"Going to strike altitude." The female at the terminal reported.

"What's going on here? Fun and games?" The Doctor looked at the stations, seeing readouts and a screen displaying the nearby village.

The voice over the comm unit was only barely audible. _"We're seven hundred metres lower than planned. Over."_

Now the Doctor looked rattled. "You're not bombing that town. That's where they're holding my friend."

"They're dangerous." Colonel Walsh said. "And your friend is almost certainly dead. I'm not going to allow them to disperse. You can't track a shape-shifter."

"Visual on the target." The other female said.

"Confirm strike."

"Colonel-" The Doctor began, only to pause when Ember put her hand on his arm.

"They're not going to fire." The brunette said. "I told you; they have intel."

The Doctor followed her gaze, to see that the female at the terminal was hesitating. On one of the screens was an image of one of the buildings, and there was a man and a child waving at them from the doorway. A quick glance at a photo pinned to the side showed the exact same two people with the female, indicating that she knew them.

"Confirm strike." Colonel Walsh said again, but was ignored. "Confirm strike."

"Strike aborted!" The female said, her voice cracking. "Strike aborted."

The Doctor stepped back as the female pulled off her headset. "Well, that's interesting."

Ember shook her head. "It's harder to attack someone who looks just like a loved one."

Colonel Walsh pursed her lips. "Then we'll have to storm the place."

* * *

"We think it's a Zygon training camp." Colonel Walsh explained to the Time Lords as her troops loaded the Land Rovers. By now, she was suited up ready for combat. "We never see more than one or two of them outside at any one time. But they always take different shapes, we don't know how many there really are. We don't know how they come and go. Whether they go through tunnels, or whether they turn into dogs and run out across the hills."

"So, that's what we'll find out." The Doctor replied.

Walsh looked at him. "We should have that gas. We should be able to rip them inside out."

"Colonel, take it easy. They're trying to unsettle you. They're trying to make you paranoid and panicked."

"Any living thing in this world, including my family and friends, could turn into a Zygon and kill me, any second now. It's not paranoia when it's real."

Ember sighed as the Colonel walked away to make sure they were prepared. "I hate to say it, but she's right. How do you fight an enemy when you don't even know what they look like?"

The Doctor turned to her. "We're going with them. Maybe we can talk before they shoot first."

The brunette nodded, though she knew it wouldn't be that easy.

* * *

Another drive in three Land Rovers brought them to a village in the countryside. Walsh has announced that they had thirty minutes before the next planned air strike. Once they reached the centre of the village, the troops got out and prepared their weapons.

"We all know what a rabbit warren this place is, but we've got intel they're holed up inside the church." Colonel Walsh briefed the team. "Hitchley, you take the front, storm it, draw their fire. The Doctor, Ember and I will take the back."

The Doctor took out a photo of Osgood, holding it up for everyone to see. "This is our object. We need to get her back, safely. Try to kill as few of them as possible. I need to have someone to negotiate with."

Colonel Walsh nodded. "You know what they're capable of. Do not fall victim to it. Truck open. Code Green."

Hitchley turned to the troops. "Let's move out!"

The group split into two teams; the Doctor, Ember and Colonel Walsh going through the graveyard to the back of the church while the rest stayed at the front. Just as the trio reached a corner and peered around it, three gunshots were fired into the air.

"Come out!" Hitchley called loudly. "Throw down your weapons! Come out! We have you surrounded! _Come out of there_!"

There was no movement or response.

"Come out, we have you surrounded!"

This time, the carved door of the church opened with a loud creak, but it wasn't an alien that stepped out. Instead, it looked like an old woman wearing a light blue knitted coat and a dress.

"I don't have any weapons." She said, stepping out onto the porch. "Please..."

"Take aim!" Hitchley said. "On my command."

"No... No, don't, please... Johnny, you don't understand..."

"You're not my mother. Don't use my name."

The woman shook her head as she began to go down the steps towards the troops. "They took us here. They came to the house and took us. They took your sister. Me."

"Stay where you are!" Hitchley demanded.

"It's not us who are the impostors. Don't let them trick you. It's your commanders, your chief. They're the aliens."

Colonel Walsh got put her radio to talk to Hitchley. "Do not fall victim. Ask for details. She's a copy. Ask something only your mum could know."

Hitchley took that advice. "Mom, I'm going to have to ask you some questions."

"Don't do this." The woman begged. "You know it's me. Don't let them trick you."

"Date and place of my birth."

"They brought us here. They're using us against you. I'm scared. Please, I'm so scared."

"Name of my favourite teddy bear." Hitchley tried again.

"I don't remember. I'm sorry, I don't. Don't kill me because I can't remember!"

"Hitchley!" Walsh said again.

The door to the church opened again, allowing more humans to steps out. From Ember's vantage point, she could see the other soldiers now hesitating as they each recognised someone.

"Stay back!" Hitchley commanded. "All of you, stay back from them!"

"That is not your mother." Walsh said again. "It is an alien hostile."

The woman at the front shook her head. "We're not those creatures. We're hostages."

"Kill it!"

"I can prove it. I can prove who we are. Just come inside, I'll show you."

Ember reached out and took the radio from Walsh, no longer able to stay quiet. "Hitchley, this is Ember. I don't know if all of you can hear me, and I'm sorry, but that isn't your mother. None of them are human. Think about it: if they were really hostages, would the Zygons have let them all just walk out? And why would they want to go back in that building if they were held against their will? Under _no circumstances_ are you to go into that church."

It wasn't clear if the woman heard her voice, but she was still pleading. "Please..."

Hitchley kept his weapon up and aimed, though he was visibly shaking now. "You're not my mom."

"Oh, God, you're going to kill me..."

"Mom, please..."

"You are. You're going to kill me. I love you. I forgive you and I love you."

Colonel Walsh took the radio back from Ember. "Do it!"

There was a long pause. Ember couldn't see Hitchley from her vantage point, but held her breath in hope. Only for her hearts to sink a few seconds later when he spoke again.

"What proof?"

"Don't go in there." Walsh said. "You're going to your death! Hitchley, kill it!"

"Let's go. Over and out, ma'am." Hitchley turned off his radio, and the whole troop followed the so called 'prisoners' into the church.

"Damn it. _Damn it_!" Walsh snapped as she turned to go around.

The Doctor followed, taking Ember's hand as they moved. "This is pointless! Just let me go in and talk!"

Walsh ignored him, turning her gun to shoot the lock off of a side door. The trio entered the church, finding a table lined with maps and colourful blocks in an evidently strategic pattern. Further in the room were several bundles of what looked like hair on the floor, sizzling with electricity. The number matched how many soldiers had entered the church exactly.

"They've executed my men." Walsh all but growled.

The Doctor looked around, finding no one else in the building. "Where are the Zygons?"

"We need to bomb the hell out of this place. It's _infested_ with these things. We can't tell who the enemy is any more, we can't count them and we can't track them!"

"I'm not going to let you do that."

Walsh glared at him. "I just lost my men. I'll quite happily bomb the hell out of anywhere. We need to move. Strike's on its way."

"I need to find Osgood."

"You've got ten minutes." Walsh said before she turned and stormed out.

Ember knelt by one of the bundles of hair. "I'm sorry." She reached out as though to touch the bundle, only to see and feel a spark of electricity zap at her hand. To her surprise, there was no pain at all, rather a faint tingle that was similar to goosebumps.

The Doctor, who'd been examining the map, glanced over in time to see it happen a second time, raising a brow at the curious look on the brunette's face. But just as he was about to speak, a voice called out from somewhere: a voice they recognised.

"Help! Help!"

"Osgood!" The Doctor called back. "Osgood!"

Ember was on her feet in an instant, the encounter with the bundle forgotten, and ran over to a door that led to a small cupboard. She was just pulling up the carpet when the Doctor caught up with her, and they quickly found the trap door.

A short ladder led them into a basement, and the Doctor quickly pulled out a torch. It wasn't that big, so they were easily able to find Osgood sat on a wooden chair with her wrists chained to the floor.

"Doctor!" She called, relief in her voice. "Ember!"

"Osgood!" The Doctor said as they heard the sound of an aircraft somewhere above them. "Got to get you out. They're going to bomb this place. What do the Zygons want?"

"They're training, practising new skills. Doctor, what are you doing here?"

The Doctor quickly used his Sonic glasses to open the shackles. "Rescuing you. In quite a dashing way, I might add."

"They fled through the tunnels. They're going back to the UK. If you're here, they've got you out of the way. Who's left in the UK?"

"Clara."

"Clara!" A new voice hissed behind them, making them all turn in time to see a Zygon step out of the shadows.

"Oh, hello..."

Before the alien could attempt anything, there was a massive boom and the whole place shook. Rocks fell from the ceiling and hit the Zygon, knocking it out and partially burying it in rubble.

"They've started." The Doctor said. "So much for ten minutes."

Ember moved to the Zygon's side, checking to make sure it was still breathing. "It's still alive. We gotta get out, now."

* * *

After managing to get the Zygon out of the rubble and the church, the remaining troops restrained the alien on a box trolley before they all made their way back to the plane with the intent of bringing their prisoner back to the UK.

The Doctor tried to phone Clara again, only to get to voicemail. "Can you change your voicemail message, please, it's getting very boring."

Ember and Osgood sat on a couple of chairs by the window, where the brunette had given Osgood a drink do water.

"Oh, I see you've accessorised it." The Doctor said after a moment, gesturing to Osgood's shirt collar that had a couple of question marks on them.

"Yes."

"The old question marks."

"You used to wear question marks."

"Oh, I know, yes, I did."

Osgood nodded. "They were nice. Why don't you wear them any more?"

"Oh, I do. I've got question mark underpants."

Osgood saw Ember smirk at that and did the same. "Makes one wonder what the question is."

The Doctor pulled up another chair and sat down, facing Osgood. He looked at her carefully before he spoke. "Which one are you? Human or Zygon?"

"I don't answer that question."

"Why not?"

"Because there isn't a question to answer. I don't accept it. My sister and I were the living embodiment of the peace we made. I will give all the lives that I have to protect it. You want to know who I am, Doctor? I am the peace. I am Human _and_ Zygon."

The Doctor leaned back in his seat. "Like a hybrid."

"A hybrid, if you like."

"Well, I'm proud to know you, Osgood. And I promise that I won't tell anyone... that you're a human." This earned him a puzzled look. "Zygons need to keep the human original alive to refresh the body print. If you were a Zygon, you'd've changed back within days of your sister's death."

"Those were the old rules, before Zygons could pluck loved ones from your memory and wear their faces. Zygons only need to keep the original alive if they need more information from them. If the interrogation is over, then the original can die."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment longer, and then he stood and walked away in thought. Ember bit her lip before she turned to face the woman.

"I'm sorry." She said, drawing Osgood to look at her. "About your sister. I tried, but..."

Osgood smiled. "I got a call from her before she... died... she told me about your hint. I don't blame you, and I don't think she did either."

Ember felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "I... you have no idea how much that means to me. I have another hint for you. When this is over, you won't be alone. You'll have another sister."

The Zygon prisoner was wheeled in, hissing and snarling at them. The Doctor moved to stand in front of it.

"Bit of first-things-first-ness. What's your name?" He asked, but didn't get a response. "My name's... Well... you can call me the Doctor. But then you knew that, didn't you? You want something. What is it?"

The Zygon regarded him coldly before it spoke. "You are the President of the World?"

"I suppose so."

"We want... the world." The Zygon laughed.

Ember moved to stand in front of the bound alien. "Why? You didn't just wake up this morning with this idea. Why are you causing all this trouble?"

The Zygon took a moment to respond. "We want the truth of who we are to be acknowledged. We want to live as ourselves. At any cost. Surely you understand this, Mother."

"Don't call me that. I'm not your mum."

"We want a home."

The Doctor shrugged. "Well, you can't have the United Kingdom. There's already people living there. They'll think you're going to pinch their benefits."

"We're already there, Doctor. The invasion's already taken place, bit by bit, over the last year. We've won the first battle. And now, we are going to begin the war."

"What does that mean?" The Doctor asked, but at that moment, his phone rang.

"Answer it." The Zygon hissed. "Say goodbye. This plane will never land."

"Really?" The Doctor gave it a sceptical look before he answered the call, putting it on loudspeaker so Ember could hear. "Clara?"

_"Doctor."_ Clara's voice replied.

"Clara?"

_"There you are."_

"Clara, I'm glad you're okay. Listen..."

_"You're breaking up."_

"The invasion has happened. You're probably surrounded by Zygons. Get to the Tardis, get yourself safe." The Doctor glanced over at the Zygon. "And apparently our plane is never going to land, but let's see what we're going to do about that."

_"I'm sorry, but Clara's dead."_ The reply made him freeze._ "Kate Stewart is dead. The UNIT troops are all dead. Truth or consequences."_

The Doctor looked at Ember, who met his gaze sadly. "I'm sorry, Doctor. Clara never met us at the school. They got her first. And now she's pointing a missile at us."

In the distance, a missile was on its way to take the plane down.

* * *

And that's part one! Sorry for skipping between scenes, but I hope I've made up for it.

Part two will sadly have to wait until next Monday, due to personal things happening...

Next Time: Ember and the Doctor try to stop both sides from making a terrible mistake. Can they do it? Stay tuned!


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine: The Zygon Inversion

And here's part two! I apologise that it's a day late, but it's been a rough weekend with an ill fiancé (don't worry, it's not the Coronavirus - she had a wisdom tooth removed and then got a bit of an infection).

Hopefully this makes up for it.

* * *

Chapter 29: The Zygon Inversion

* * *

Osgood looked out of the window of the plane, seeing the missile coming towards them. "Doctor?"

Ember closed her eyes and concentrated. Though she was sure that Clara would have thrown off her copy's aim to save them, she didn't want to chance it. She focused on the wind she could feel outside, forcing it to push against the plane. It didn't do much, but it allowed the plane to swerve just enough that the missile zoomed past the windows.

"Missed!" The Doctor cheered and grabbed Ember's arm when she stumbled from the strain, knowing that she'd just used a power she'd only recently gained access to. "Nice move, Ember!"

"We're not safe yet. She has another missile," the brunette replied, shaking her head to clear it. "We need to get out. Where are the parachutes?"

It was a quick scramble to find the parachutes. While the Doctor was helping Osgood put hers on, Ember walked over to the restrained Zygon.

"We can get you out too," she said. "There's enough parachutes for all of us."

The Zygon hissed at her. "I would die for my cause!"

Ember tilted her head. "You never told us your name. Please, tell me now."

The Zygon paused, seeing something sincere in the brunette. "Ash. It's short for my true name, which I will not give you."

"Then I'll remember you, Ash." Ember replied calmly, turning away. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry."

She was just returning to the end of the room when the Zygon hissed a reply. "So am I, Mother."

Ember sighed, choosing not to look back as she reached the Doctor and Osgood by the emergency exit. She shook her head when they both gave her questioning looks. "Let's go."

The next few minutes were a blur for Ember. They jumped out of the plane, plummeted for short amount of time, and then opened their chutes. At one point, she must have passed out, as she was suddenly waking up coughing up water. She'd landed not far from Osgood and the Doctor, but she'd also ended up partially in the ocean. As she coughed and shrugged off her parachute harness, the Doctor was soon at her side and helping her get away from the water. The beach they'd landed on was partially sand and partially rocky, and had bits of wreckage from the bombed plane littered around them.

"Doctor?" Osgood called. Her glasses had been broken by the fringe as she stumbled her way through the wreckage toward them. "Doctor!"

The Doctor, wearing his Sonic glasses, looked over at her once he was sure that Ember was alright. "Any questions?"

Osgood paused, looking at the parachute that the Doctor had already taken off. "Why do you have a Union Jack parachute?"

"Uh... camouflage."

"Camouflage?"

"Yes, we're in Britain. Oh, your specs are broken. I'll fix them." He took the two pieces of Osgood's glasses and handed her his. "You can wear mine. They're sonic."

"Sonic specs?"

"Yeah!"

"Isn't that a bit pointless? Like a visual hearing aid?"

The Doctor shrugged as he began to wonder away. "What's wrong with pointless? I once invented an invisible watch. Spot the design flaw."

"You're talking nonsense to distract me from being really scared." Osgood said with a smile as she put on the glasses. "It's one of your known character traits."

"Don't look at my browser history."

Osgood couldn't resist, activating the specs with a buzz. "Whoa!"

"Yeah, I said don't."

Ember tilted her head as Osgood's face lit up in a deep blush. "Should I be worried?"

Osgood opened her mouth, then closed it, and then tried again. "Maybe. There's lots of pictures of-"

The Doctor quickly ran back to their side, doing something on the specs. "Oi! Spoilers! And I told you not to look!"

"Quite the imagination there, Doctor," Osgood teased, her blush fading and replaced by a smirk.

"Shut up."

Ember shook her head with a smile as she and Osgood followed the Doctor to where a concrete path led off the beach. As curious as she was, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Why didn't that Zygon blow us up with her big bazooka?" Osgood asked to break the silence.

"She did blow us up with her big bazooka." The Doctor corrected. "This is us being blown up with a big bazooka."

"But, I mean, she seems to know what she's doing. The first thing _I'd_ do if I wanted to invade the world would be to kill you."

The Doctor gave her a flat look. "Thanks."

"I wouldn't even let you get talking, like you always do. Bullet between the eyes, first thing."

Ember shivered, pushing down that instinct that had begun to rear up at the discussion. She reminded herself that Osgood wasn't intending to kill the Doctor; she was just thinking logically.

"Again, thank you." The Doctor said dryly.

"Twelve times, if necessary." Osgood added.

"Ah, yes. Why limit yourself? You've really thought this through, haven't you?"

"I'm a big fan."

Ember moved so that she was walking between the Doctor and Osgood. She would claim later that it was so she could talk to them both, but it was also an attempt to soothe the instinct that wanted Osgood's 'threat' paid for. "She's right, though. Anyone who knows you that much would know not to give you even an inch of relay. They'd know that you can come back from the most impossible situations."

"But she gave you a chance to get out. She hesitated. If she had Clara's memory print, she'd know better than to give you even a second." Osgood added, pausing when the Doctor frowned. "You've gone quiet because I mentioned Clara. You think she might be dead."

"Yes."

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I'm still in the hope phase."

"How's that going?"

"Hell. Please talk about something else."

Ember took his hand. "Actually, I can help. Clara is alive. And she's not the only one."

Osgood wisely changed the subject as they reached an access road. "Why do they want to destroy the ceasefire?"

"Don't think of them as rational. They're different." The Doctor replied. "They don't care about human beings, they don't care about their own people. They think the rest of Zygonkind are traitors."

"Think of them as kids who don't know any better. The kind that thinks they're right even when they're wrong." Ember added. "By the way, we should get another ray of hope any moment now."

The Doctor was about to ask what she meant when his phone rang in his pocket, indicating a new text message. He took it out and looked at the screen, frowning when he saw that the message was from Clara's phone.

"Clara. Well, not Clara." Osgood corrected herself. "The Zygon who-"

"The Zygon who probably killed her." The Doctor held out the phone. "Read it."

Ember took the phone instead of Osgood, accessing the message. "It says 'I'm awake'."

"What does that mean? A political awakening? Why would she be sending me propaganda? She just blew me up with a big bazooka."

Osgood tilted her head. "Never really met Clara. Pretty strong, yeah?"

"She was amazing."

"Not was." Ember corrected. "Is."

Osgood suddenly caught on. "It's not from the Zygon. It's from Clara."

"How?"

"Like Ember said: She's not dead. She's in a pod somewhere. They need a live feed to the information in her brain. But she's fighting back. She's trying to take control, piece by piece."

"Texting?"

Osgood shrugged. "How much more human do you get? The Zygon probably doesn't even know it sent this, or why it misfired that bazooka."

The Doctor shook his head, though he felt a small bit of hope blossoming in his hearts. "You don't know. It's just a theory."

"Yes, it's just a theory, but how's that hope phase now?"

"Worse than ever."

"Then we've got a game."

Ember smiled. "You haven't lost her yet, Doctor."

She'd turned to continue walking, and thus didn't notice when the Doctor stared at her for a few moments, part concerned and part thoughtful of her choice of the words.

He caught up to her as they spotted a parked police car with two male officers in it. The Doctor quickly ran over and knocked on the window.

"Hello! Hi! Hello." He greeted, waiting until the officer rolled down his window before flashing the psychic paper at them. "Doctor John Disco. It was my plane. I had a big plane for purposes of, uh... poncing about."

The officers didn't react. They just stared at the trio rather eerily.

"It went off with a massive bang about half a mile that way?"

Ember moved forward, grabbing the Doctor's arm. "Oh, John, did you forget again? It was a paper plane, silly. Yes, a really big one, but it didn't go bang, did it? It crumpled because it was just paper."

The Doctor caught her eye, seeing her descreetly indicate the officers who were still just staring at them. "Actually, uh... yes, you're right, dear. It's fine. We're, we're fine, aren't we?"

Osgood nodded, catching on. "Yeah. Yeah."

"Yes, yes, yes, we're fine. Just... move along." The Doctor led them away from the car, careful not to look back. They could feel the eyes _still_ staring at them.

Ember, still holding the Doctor's phone, held it up as she called Clara's mobile. After a few rings, it was answered, with the Zygon who looked like Clara shown on a video call. "Doctor?"

The Doctor took the phone from her. "Hello."

_"You're dead."_ Clara's double said.

"Yes, well, I'm dead now, and I think I might be a bit more dead in a minute. What's your plan, Zygella?"

Ember glanced back at the sound of a car engine, to see that the police car had reversed to block their way back to the beach. Their staring was beginning to be unnerving.

_"I don't have a plan."_

"Come on, you don't invade planets without having a kind of plan." The Doctor argued. "That's why they're called planets, to remind you to _plan it?_ Hey, hey! That's good! Pun-tastic. Doctor Pun-tastic! Oh, come on, that was a good one, Zygella!"

The policemen got out of their car and began to follow the trio. Ember took the Doctor's free hand and squeezed it twice to alert him.

_"Don't call me Zygella. My name's Bonnie."_ The Zygon said. Then, unexpectedly, her left eye blinked.

"And you're winking at me." The Doctor pointed out.

_"I am not winking at you. Where is the Osgood box?"_ Another wink.

"You do know what winking means? You're sending out some very mixed messages here. You know I'm over two thousand years old? I'm old enough to be your Messiah."

Ember glanced around again, seeing more police officers appearing.

_"I am not winking at you. Where is the box?"_

The Doctor glanced around for an escape route. "We need some wheels. The van!" He led Ember and Osgood to a van that was parked half on the pavement and half in double yellow lines. The brunette was surprised that there wasn't a parking ticket. The Doctor focused on the call again. "Okay. Non-verbal communication. I assume that you never bothered to learn Morse code."

Ember tapped Osgood's shoulder. "Setting 137 on the specs. Point and think."

Osgood used the Sonic to unlock the van doors, allowing them to get in - the Doctor and Osgood in the front with Ember in the backseat - as Bonnie demanded _"__Tell me!"_

"Okay, we'll have to try something else. Twenty questions. Where's your pod? Is it in a tunnel? Is it in London?"

Bonnie's eyelids twitched, and she finally noticed, using her hand to cover one eye and then both of them.

"Thanks very much. Gotcha!" The Doctor grinned. "Stay where you are, Clara. We're coming to get you. And for God's sake, don't let her into your memories."

_"Memories? What memories? What has she got?"_

"Don't tell her where the Osgood box is, and above all, don't tell her _what_ it is." The Doctor hung up the phone, tossing it to Osgood before he started the van and took off, getting away from the officers. The officers didn't even try to run after them, just watching.

"Obviously, the Zygon could hear that." Osgood said.

"Obviously."

"So she's going to poke around inside Clara's mind, looking for answers."

"The mind of Clara Oswald. She may never find her way out." The Doctor chuckled.

Osgood looked at him. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile before."

"Dazzling, isn't it?"

The phone in Osgood's hand beeped, making her look at it. "Oh. I got a ping on Clara's phone. It's the location Bonnie sent the text from. A shopping centre, south London."

"Ah, London. Perpetual city, cradle of culture, here we come! Clara, stay safe."

Ember took the phone from Osgood and messed with it, bringing up a news app. "And she's already posted it."

Osgood leaned over to look and the Doctor listened. On the screen was a video of an exposed Zygon running through the street as a female reporter spoke._ "A video supposedly showing an alien in south London is posted across the internet."_

"This is the same place Bonnie texted from." Osgood said. "We need to hurry."

* * *

It wasn't long until the trio in the stolen van reached the estate that was on the video of the Zygon. Along the way, the Doctor had fixed Osgood's glasses with duct tape and the young woman was tracking the location of the text and video using the phone. How, Ember could only guess.

"London!" The Doctor announced as he got out of the van. "What a dump."

"London's okay," Osgood said as she and Ember got out the other door.

"No, it's not, it's a dump."

"You spend an awful lot of time here, considering it's a dump."

"I spend an awful lot of time being kidnapped, tortured, shot at and exterminated. Doesn't mean I like it." The Doctor countered.

Osgood let it go, looking around. "Well, this is where the video was shot. Bonnie was here."

"And she left a mess," Ember added, walking off toward the shopping centre located in the estate. The Doctor and Osgood followed, puzzled and curious. Once they got inside, they found the place dark and quiet.

"There's electricity in the air." The Doctor noted. Ember nodded, feeling the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck standing up.

"It stinks. It smells like barbecues..." Osgood took a few steps further and then gasped, seeing why. "Oh."

Ember knelt beside one of several sizzling, hairy lumps on the ground. She didn't know if was Bonnie or the exposed Zygon that had killed them, but it was still a bad sight. "I'm sorry..."

The Doctor took out three flashlights from his coat, handing one each to the girls and keeping the last one for himself. He soon spoke after leading them away from the remains, addressing Osgood. "What's your name?"

"Osgood."

"No, no, no. Your first name?"

Osgood raised a brow at him. "What's _your_ first name?"

"Basil."

"...Petronella."

"Let's just... stick with what we had. I need to ask you, because it's important, because it might matter."

"What's important?"

"Which one are you? Human or Zygon?"

Ember lightly hit him on the arm. "It doesn't matter. That's the point."

Before the Doctor could argue, a door nearby opened slightly, and they could hear a squelching sound from inside. Following the sound, they just caught sight of a familiar, blobby shape as it ran, going into a general store in an attempt to escape. Just as they caught up with it, it hid behind some shelves and began to change shape, morphing into a middle-aged man with dark hair that was receding. The transformation wasn't complete, though, as red suckers could be seen on the exposed parts of his body.

The Doctor held up his hands in what he hoped was a placent gesture. "We can help you."

"It wasn't me!" The Zygon rasped. "They attacked me. They saw me! I had to..."

He moaned painfully as there was another squelching sound. A few of the suckers disappeared, but not all of them, and a few new ones appeared.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay..." the Doctor tried to soothe.

"A commander came. She turned me back! Argh!" Another squelch and moan.

Osgood stepped forward. "We can help. We can help you. Doctor, we can help him, can't we?"

"I'm not sure..."

The Zygon held out its right hand, sending a jolt of electricity that made the Doctor stagger. It took advantage of the distraction and ran.

"Please! Come back! Come back!" The Doctor called after it, the trio following the alien into the storage room at the back of the store. "I can't help you just now, but-"

Another bolt of electricity was sent at them, and this time Ember pulled the Doctor back.

"Why?" The Zygon moaned. His skin was breaking out in red blotches. "I was happy like this. I was happy here..."

"I understand..."

"I can't change. I can't hide...!"

"Let us help you." Osgood tried.

The Zygon staggered back in fear. "No! You're Truth or Consequences!"

"We're not. We're really not!"

"I'm not part of your fight." The Zygon moaned as his skin turned more red. "I never wanted to fight anyone, I just wanted to live here. Why can't I just... live?"

The Doctor stepped closer, not realising that Ember was right behind him. "We're on your side."

"I'm not on anyone's side. This is my home."

"Listen, we are not them."

"I can't go back now... You've taken my life!" The Zygon raised its hand again, pointing its palm toward its own face.

The Doctor paled when he realised what it was going to do. "No, no, no! Stop! Stop! Stop!"

The Zygon hesitated. "...They will kill me." It raised its arm again, intending to finish it.

"No!" Ember cried, coming out from behind the Doctor. Before anyone could stop her, she dashed forward and grabbed the raised arm, intending to pull it down and away.

She didn't expect it to fire the electricity, and she saw too late that she would be caught in it.

"Ember!" The Doctor called, seeing both Ember and the Zygon get engulfed in electricity. He was expecting the both of them to be reduced to ash, but seconds went by and neither of them were dead, if the twitching and screaming was any indication.

A few seconds later, a sudden jolt forced the two apart, sending the Zygon back against the shelves and Ember against the opposite wall. She crumpled to the floor, and the Doctor ran to her side. The brunette looked dazed, but she was at least awake and moving, which made the Doctor's racing hearts calm a bit. Osgood kept her eyes and her torch on the other side.

"Ember, can you hear me? Speak to me!"

Ember shook her head, her vision swimming as she felt the need to throw up. "Ugh... remind me not to do that again..."

"It's gone..."

The Doctor turned to look where the voice had come from, to see the Zygon still leaning against the shelves it had been pushed against. To his surprise, all of the redness and suckers had vanished, leaving him looking completely normal.

"It's gone..." the Zygon muttered again, feeling his face. "The pain... it's gone... I've... got control..."

Ember blinked, trying to make her swimming vision focus. She knew that there weren't two Zygons there, after all. "What happened?"

The Zygon shook his head, moving to examine his arms next, looking shocked but nearly giggling in relief. "You fixed it. How did you...? What's this?"

The Doctor turned his torch to look, seeing that the Zygon was focused on something on his arm. There, on the back of his right forearm, was a burn that blackened the skin, but the skin around it was perfect and undamaged, almost like a tattoo. It was about the size of a 2p coin, and was no doubt an alien symbol, though it looked almost like a curved feather as well.

The Doctor was quick to realise that it was in the exact same place that Ember had grabbed the arm to stop the Zygon from killing itself.

"What is this?" The Zygon asked again. He felt no pain from the mark, though it looked like it really should have hurt.

Ember stood shakily, the Doctor allowing her to lean on him as the Time Lords moved closer to see the mark. Even Osgood was curious. The brunette tilted her head, finding the symbol familiar, but where...?

Then it clicked. She'd seen that symbol before, in an underground cavern on an impossible planet...

"Doctor," Osgood said, reaching out to touch the mark. It was slightly indented, like it had been made by a branding iron, but it was clean. "What is that?"

The Doctor pursed his lips. "Well, its a mark, isn't it?"

"It's the language of... my people," Ember murmured, making them all look at her. "But why is it there? How did it get there?"

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" The Doctor said. "You gave it to him."

Ember blinked, looking up at him. She had to remind herself that there wasn't two Doctors either. "Me? How did I do that?"

The Doctor met her gaze, his brow furrowing at her confusion. "You've... never done this before, have you?"

"Not as far as I know."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," The Doctor said before he looked at the Zygon, who was poking the mark with his free hand. "Looks like you've struck it lucky. Do you know who she is? This is the Mother of Elements."

That made the Zygon's eyes shoot to the brunette, surprise and awe on his face. "Mother? Oh god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to attack you, I swear!"

Ember waved her hand, glad that the double vision was beginning to settle. "I was the one who grabbed you." She looked at the Doctor again. "You're not surprised. Why did I do that?"

"Well, may as well tell you all." The Doctor said. "Ember, what does this symbol mean? I know you can read it."

"... it says 'safe'." The brunette said after a moment.

"And that's why you did this. You've marked him as safe, like putting someone in protective custody."

Osgood tilted her head. "Like a guardian?"

The Doctor nodded, looking at the Zygon again. "Can you do a different form?"

The Zygon nodded. "I have... other options."

"Then consider yourself safe. When this is all over, find UNIT or Osgood. This mark means that you're under Ember's protection. Think of it like immunity, or asylum, or a right of passage. They'll help you reintegrate into society. A new life, but it's better than the alternative."

The Zygon nodded again, looking at Ember. He surprised her by pulling her into a hug. "Thank you, Mother! Thank you!"

The brunette awkwardly pat the Zygon's back. "Um, you're welcome. Now, just hide for now. Take a new form of you have to. But stay under the radar until this is over. We're on it."

With one more nod, the Zygon quickly left, leaving the trio to walk at a more sedate pace. Ember caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror, and frowned.

"The hell happened to my hair?" She cried. Her short hair, which had been pulled into a ponytail, was a mess; strands were sticking up like she was trying to imitate River's hairstyle. "I look like I just stuck a finger in a wall socket!"

The Doctor chuckled, searching through his pockets before handing her a brush. "Here."

The brunette grumbled, pulling out the band and brushing her hair down, cursing under her breath when she got the occasional static shock. Once she had it reasonably under control, she tied it back once more, and pocketed the brush at the Doctor's insistence.

Osgood tilted her head as they walked, heading out of the storeroom and back into the store. "Ember. Did you know that he was going to try to kill himself?"

"That's why I stopped him." Ember replied. "I didn't expect to brand him, though, or get electrocuted."

The Doctor took her hand. "Well, do you remember when you got shocked along with Skaldak on the sub? You've withstood electricity before. And you're getting stronger, able to control more."

Ember slowed down, making the Doctor do the same. "Wait... electricity... that's an element, isn't it?"

"It's more commonly referred to as thunder, but it's the same principle. And no, it isn't one of the Primary Elements. It's secondary."

Ember looked at the floor. "For crying out loud, I may as well be called Zeus at this point. I'm just nicking the names of Gods now." She shook her head. "I can't think about this right now, there's more important stuff to deal with. Like the Zygons."

Osgood spoke up as they left the store and into the main hallway that led out of the mall. "I agree. What I don't understand is why did Bonnie do that to the Zygon? It wasn't willing to fight."

"Unmask everyone, provoke fear, paranoia, provoke a war." The Doctor said.

"Doctor." The trio looked up at the new voice, surprised to see Kate Stewart approaching them with two UNIT soldiers.

"Kate! Are you all right?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just I'd heard otherwise."

"I'm fine. Doctor, we know where the Zygon command centre is. We know where Clara's pod is. We can take you there."

The Doctor tilted his head, catching Ember's eye. She subtly nodded. "Well, how very convenient, because that's just exactly what we're looking for."

* * *

It barely took an hour to get to the underground caverns that hid the Zygon pods under the city. Kate led the way, the Doctor, Ember and Osgood following, while the two soldiers brought up the rear. They soon reached the largest of the caverns, where the majority of the pods were covering the walls and ceiling.

"Well, they like a good cave, don't they?" The Doctor commented, shining his torch around. "How many of these pods are occupied?"

"We don't know." Kate replied.

"Which one is Clara's?"

Kate led them to the side, only to pause when she found a space where a pod had obviously been. "Well, that's strange. It was here before."

"Doctor..." Osgood murmured as Ember tensed. "I think they're Zygons."

The Doctor turned as the two girls moved to his side, just as the two soldiers transformed into Zygons before their eyes. "Oh, you cheeky little monkeys!"

Kate turned as the Zygons moved to flank her, lifting a red blob that turned out to be a communicator. "The Doctor is here."

_"Don't kill him."_ Bonnie's voice could be heard. _"We need him alive."_

"What for?"

_"Because I just found out why it's called an Osgood box. There's two of them."_

The Doctor tilted his head as all eyes turned to him. "Two Osgoods, two boxes. Operation Double. What did you expect?"

_"What's in them, Doctor? Tell me. Now!"_

"One box normalises all the Zygons."

_"And the other?"_

"Destroys them."

_"Which is which?"_

"Ah, that would be telling."

There was a pause as the two exposed Zygons moved in front of Kate. Ember, being the only one who knew what was happening on the other end of the line, spoke up. "Here's a hint for you, Bonnie: Why do the Osgoods never tell which one is human and which is Zygon?"

_"Which box normalises the Zygons, Doctor?"_ Bonnie asked, seemingly ignoring the brunette. _"Tell me, or she dies."_

The Doctor glanced at Ember, who mouthed Clara's name so that he knew. "No. This is war. You pull the trigger, you pay the price."

_"Kill her."_

Ember cut in again, knowing that she was taking the Doctor's line but not caring. "Alright, stop! It's the blue one, that's the one you want!"

There was another pause, and then Bonnie spoke again. _"Are you lying? Are you lying to me, Mother?"_

"No, she's not." The Doctor replied. "And when you open up the box, you'll see she's not lying."

Another pause, followed by a sound the Doctor and Ember recognised as one of the boxes being opened.

_"Mother?"_ Bonnie demanded, followed by the sound of the second box opening. _"Doctor!"_

"Yeah, I know."

Ember smirked. "The reason why the Osgoods never told which is which: it doesn't matter."

_"Bring them to me!"_ Bonnie demanded.

The Zygons advanced, making the Doctor attempt to stand between them and the girls. Ember grabbed his arm and shook her head, but before he could ask, there were two gunshots, and the Zygons dropped dead. Kate was stood behind them, her gun raised.

"Sorry, Doctor." She said. "Self-defence."

The Doctor glanced up at her from where he'd knelt by the bodies. "You're you."

"I'm me."

"How did you survive?"

"Five rounds, rapid," Kate replied as she dropped the Zygon communicator, hearing Bonnie shout in outrage before there was static. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I know you don't approve."

"Why does peacekeeping always involve killing?" The Doctor mused as Ember knelt by one of the bodies. Kate stomped on the communicator to break it. "Is this the lot?"

"No, there are plenty more of them. They were the nearest." Kate looked at Osgood. "You are you?"

"I'm me."

"But human or Zygon?"

Osgood tilted her head. "Me."

"I keep telling you lot; it doesn't matter which one she is." Ember murmured, her eyes focused on the bodies. "She's on the side of peace. That all that counts."

Kate looked at her for a long moment, and then sighed. "What are we dealing with?"

"Twenty million Zygons about to be unmasked." The Doctor said, casting a concerned glance at Ember. "You don't know whether they are human or not. And you can't fight them, not with soldiers."

"Which leads me to a very big question."

"Oh, I was really hoping that it wouldn't."

"The Zee-67, Sullivan's gas, the gas that kills the Zygons. You took it."

The Doctor shrugged. "Well, you know how it is. Daddy knows best."

"That's what's in the red box, yes?" Kate asked. "Of course it is. If I remember rightly, it causes a chain reaction in the atmosphere. Turns every Zygon on Earth inside out."

Ember growled, making them all look at her in surprise. "You think genocide is the answer? A few of them act out, so you think it's better to just kill them all? Most of them don't even want to fight!"

The Doctor stood, grabbing the brunette by the arm when she'd stood to stop her advancing on Kate. "Let me negotiate peace. You can't commit mass murder-"

"Then why did you leave the gas with us?" Kate cut him off.

"The boxes are safeguards for both species. You agreed to that."

"I never agreed to that."

"Yes, you did, then I wiped your memory. And you agreed to that, too. But that's why there were two Osgoods to police the ceasefire. One human and one Zygon, to keep the secrets and keep the peace."

Kate looked between the two Time Lords before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Doctor. Truly. But the peace is failing already." She turned away. "Come on."

The Doctor sighed, looking at Ember. "It's alright, Ember-"

"No, it isn't." The brunette cut him off this time. Her hands were clenched into fists and trembling. "Every time... Why do they find it so easy to resort to violence? Not just this species, the humans, but all of them? Why are the worst choices the easiest ones to make?"

The Doctor couldn't find it in himself to answer verbally, simply taking one of her hands in his as he led them to follow Kate.

* * *

Thanks to the tunnels stretching under London, it didn't take them long to reach their destination: the Black Archive. Thanks to the Zygons' earlier break in, it was quick and easy to get the main storage room where they found Clara, Bonnie and two exposed Zygons. There was a long table in the middle of the room, and there was a box at each end; one was cobolt blue, the other rust red. Both were open and revealed two buttons, one marked 'Truth' and the other marked 'consequences'.

"It's no good, Bonnie." Clara spoke just as the group of four got within hearing distance. "You can't win."

Bonnie looked at her from where she was stood at the centre of the table. "I don't care."

"Hi! Hello! Hello!" The Doctor called to announce their entrance. The two Zygons grabbed Clara before she could move. "Oh, hello! Hi. Hi. Stop this. Stop this, please." He moved to the other side of the table to face Bonnie. "Let me take both of these boxes away. We'll forgive, we'll forget. And the ceasefire will stand."

"No." Bonnie replied curtly.

Kate moved to the red box, prompting Bonnie to go to the blue box. "Doctor, which of these buttons do I press? Doctor, which one? Truth or consequences?"

"Truth or consequences?" Bonnie echoed.

"This is the moment we've all been waiting for. Make your mind up time!" The Doctor put on an American accent, sounding like a game show host as he addressed Kate first. "One of those buttons will destroy the Zygons, release the imbecile's gas. The other one detonates the nuclear warhead under the Black Archive. It'll destroy everyone in London." He then turned to Bonnie. "Bonnie. Bonnie, sweetheart! One of those buttons will unmask every Zygon in the world. The other one cancels their ability to change form. It'll make them human beings for ever." He dropped the accent. "There are safeguards beyond safeguards. I did this on a very important day for me and this ceasefire _will_ stand."

Bonnie glared at him. "This is wrong."

"No, it's not."

"You are responsible for all the violence. All of the suffering."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!" Bonnie snapped. "You engineered this situation, Doctor. This is your fault!"

"No, it's not. It's _your_ fault."

Ember stepped forward, making sure she was still between the Zygons and Osgood in case they tried to attack her. "Don't put your actions on someone else."

"I had to do what I've done, Mother." Bonnie said to her.

The Doctor shrugged. "So did I."

Bonnie looked at him. "We've been treated like cattle..."

"So what?"

"We've been left to fend for ourselves..."

"So's everyone."

"It's not fair."

"Oh, it's not fair!" The Doctor chuckled. "Oh, I didn't realise that it was not fair! Well, you know what? My Tardis doesn't work properly and I don't have my own personal tailor."

Bonnie shook her head in disbelief. "The things don't equate."

"These things have happened, Zygella. They are facts. _You_ just want cruelty to beget cruelty. You're not superior to people who were cruel to you. you're just a whole bunch of new cruel people. A whole bunch of new cruel people being cruel to some other people, who'll end up being cruel to you. The only way anyone can live in peace is if they're prepared to forgive. Why don't you break the cycle?"

"Why should we?"

The Doctor took a breath through his nose, silently asking for strength. "What is it that you actually want?"

There was a long pause as Bonnie looked at everyone before she answered. "War."

Ember shook her head. "That's it? Just war?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Ah. Ah, right. And when this war is over, when you have a homeland free from humans, what do you think it's going to be like? Do you know? Have you thought about it? Have you given it any consideration? Because you're very close to getting what you want. What's it going to be like? Paint me a picture. Are you going to live in houses? Do you want people to go to work? Will there be holidays? Oh! Will there be music? Do you think people will be allowed to play violins? Who's going to make the violins? Well?" He barely paused for a moment, knowing that she wouldn't deny it. "Oh, you don't actually know, do you? Because, like every other tantrumming child in history, Bonnie, you don't actually know what you want. So, let me ask you a question about this brave new world of yours. When you've killed all the bad guys, and when it's all perfect and just and fair, when you have finally got it exactly the way you want it, what are you going to do with the people like you? The troublemakers. How are you going to protect your glorious revolution from the next one?"

Bonnie smirked confidently. "We'll win."

"Oh, will you? Well, maybe, maybe you _will_ win! But nobody wins for long. The wheel just keeps turning. So, come on. Break the cycle."

Ember felt her head throb slightly, wincing and rubbing her temple. The only one who noticed was Osgood. Then her vision went white...

_Despite the Doctor's best attempts to change her mind, Bonnie attempted to press the button she'd chosen. When she realised it was a fake, she flew into a rage and killed all of the non-Zygons in the room. Then she proceeded to slaughter as many humans and 'traitor' Zygons as she could find..._

Ember winced again as she came out of the vision, feeling her eyes tear up.

"Why are you still talking?" Bonnie asked, no one else in the room seeming to have noticed the brunette's behaviour.

"Because I want to get you to see, and I'm almost there!" The Doctor replied.

"Do you know what I see, Doctor? A box. A box with everything I need. A fifty percent chance."

"For us, too." Kate added, copying Bonnie and holding her hand over the red box.

The Doctor put on the American accent again. "And we're off! Fingers on buzzers! Are you feeling lucky? Are you ready to play the game? Who's going to be quickest? Who's going to be luckiest?"

"This is not a game!" Kate snapped.

"No, it's not a game, sweetheart, and I mean that most sincerely."

"Why are you doing this?" Bonnie asked.

Kate barely glanced at her. "Yes, I'd quite like to know that, too. You set this up. Why?"

The Doctor met her gaze evenly. "Because it's not a game, Kate. This is a scale model of war. Every war ever fought, right there in front of you. Because it's always the same. When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many hearts will be broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does until what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning. Sit down and TALK!" He'd raised his voice at the last sentence, having to take another breath to calm himself before looking at Bonnie again. "Listen to me. Listen, I just... I just want you to think. Do you know what thinking is? It's just a fancy word for changing your mind."

Bonnie shook her head. "I will not change my mind."

"Why?"

Everyone turned their eyes to Ember at the single word she'd spoken. She was still rubbing her temple, but to their surprise, tears were running down her face from her closed eyes.

"Ember...?" The Doctor murmured.

"Why?" Ember repeated, either not hearing him or simply ignoring him. Her eyes opened briefly, letting them glimpse liquid silver before she closed them again. "Why does this happen? You've got something so precious, so beautiful... but you're willing to destroy it... no one is meant to fight; not like this. Nothing comes out of it except... So much anger, so much pain... why?"

She dropped to her knees, almost sobbing. Osgood moved to her side, gently holding her by the shoulders.

"Just... walk away..." the brunette continued. It wasn't clear if she was aware that she was talking. "Why can't you just stop... and walk away..."

"I'm not stopping this, Mother." Bonnie said, though she found herself unable to look away. "I started it. I will not stop it. You think they'll let me go, after what I've done?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes again, reluctantly turning away from Ember. "You're all the same, you screaming kids. You know that? 'Look at me, I'm unforgivable.' Well, here's the unforeseeable. I forgive you. After all you've done, I forgive you."

"You don't understand. You will _never_ understand."

At that, the Doctor chuckled, almost hysterically. "_I_ don't understand? Are you kidding? Me? Of course I understand. I mean, do you call this a war? This funny little thing? This is not a war! I fought in a bigger war than you will ever know. I did worse things than you could ever imagine. And when I close my eyes!" He turned away, visibly shaking before he forced himself to continue. "I hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count! And do you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it? You hold it tight till it burns your hand, and you say this. No one else will ever have to live like this. No one else will have to feel this pain! Not on my watch!"

Everyone looked at him, except for Ember. The brunette had stopped sobbing, but tears were still streaming down her face as she watched the two women who could destroy everything with the touch of a button.

"Please..." she whispered, barely loud enough to be heard. "Don't do this... be the first... show mercy... forgive..."

There was a long, tense pause, and then Kate slowly moved her hand, taking the lid of her box and closing it before stepping back from the table.

The Doctor looked at her in relief. "Thank you. Thank you."

"I'm sorry..." she murmured.

"I know. I know. Thank you." The Doctor turned to Bonnie. "Well?"

There was another long pause as Bonnie looked at the Doctor, and then at Ember.

"Please," The brunette pleaded again. "No more..."

"...It's empty, isn't it?" Bonnie's reply made Kate look up in surprise. "Both boxes. There's nothing in them. Just buttons."

The Doctor gave her a small smile. "Of course. And do you know how you know that? Because you've started to think like me. It's hell, isn't it? No one should have to think like that. And no one will. Not on our watch." His smile widened as he saw the regret in Bonnie's eyes. "Gotcha."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you have a disadvantage, Zygella. I know that face."

Ember glanced over at Clara, who furrowed her brow slightly in recognition.

"This is all very well, but we know the boxes are empty now." Kate pointed out. "We can't forget that."

The Doctor shrugged. "No. Well... you've said that the last fifteen times."

He put on his Sonic specs and looked up at the memory filter on the ceiling above them. It sparked violently, and then everything went white...

* * *

Osgood moved Kate's unconscious form to sit against one of the shelves. Next to her, the two exposed Zygons were also unconscious.

Bonnie, still looking like Clara, closed the lid of the blue box and looked at the Doctor. "You didn't wipe my memory."

"No. Just Kate's." The Doctor replied. "Oh, and your little friend's here, of course. When they wake up, they won't remember what you've done. It'll be our secret."

"You're going to protect me?"

"You're one of us now," Osgood said, "whether you like it, or not."

Bonnie looked at Ember, who was sat against the wall and holding her head. "If you knew the boxes were empty, why were you crying? Nothing would have happened if I pressed one of the buttons."

The brunette slowly raised her head to look at her. "You were angry. If you'd pressed a button and found it to be a trick, you'd have gotten more angry. You'd have killed us in blind fury and gone on to slaughter thousands more, human and Zygon alike. I wanted you to let go of that anger. Like I said: nothing comes out of fighting but pain, no matter if you're doing it for right or wrong reasons."

"So you were pretending to be upset?"

"No, that was real. I don't really know what brought it on. Just... it all suddenly came up."

The Doctor straightened. "I think I can explain that. Ember has been around for longer than even I have. She's seen so much, yet she can't remember most of it. But memories... they're never truly gone, nor are what we feel during those forgotten moments. Just buried or locked away until certain conditions set it off. Chances are, she's seen enough wars to know that there's only one thing guaranteed: people suffer."

Bonnie tilted her head curiously before she looked at the Doctor again. "I don't understand how you could just forgive me."

"Because I've been where you have. There was another box. I was going to press another button. I was going to wipe out all of my own kind, man, woman and child. I was so sure I was right."

"What happened?"

"The same thing that happened to you. I let Clara Oswald get inside my head. Trust me. She doesn't leave."

Ember pushed herself to her feet. "And that's why you didn't forget. Someone has to remember. Remember that pain and be the one who says 'no more'."

* * *

After Bonnie left them to call off the rebellion, the Doctor, Ember, Clara and Osgood made their way back to the children's park. Ember was surprised that she hadn't noticed the Tardis had been there the whole time.

Osgood smiled as she looked at the blue box. "The Tardis."

"The Tardis." The Doctor nodded.

"What does it stand for?"

That made the Doctor look at her in surprise. "What? You're kidding me? Surely you know that?"

"Well, I've heard a couple of different versions."

"I made it up from the initials. It stands for Totally And Radically Driving In Space." The Doctor smiled. "Do you want to come? All of the future, all of history, and all of the universe?"

Osgood pursed her lips. "More than anything. But I think I have to stay. I've got a couple of boxes to keep an eye on. And a world to keep safe."

"Fair enough." The Doctor nodded, turning to the girls next to him. "Clara, would you mind, uh..."

"Mind what?" Clara asked, not getting it.

"I'll see you in the Tardis, okay?"

Now it clicked. "Oh, uh, yeah, sure." She moved and hugged Osgood. "Take care, you."

"You take care of him." Osgood said. "Don't let him die or anything."

"What if he's _really_ annoying?"

"Then fine."

"Got ya." Clara nodded to Ember as she stepped into the Tardis and closed the door.

The Doctor turned to Osgood again. "I need to know. Which one are you?"

"I'm Osgood."

"Human or Zygon?"

Osgood tilted her head with a smile. "I'll answer that question one day. Do you know when day that will be?"

"The day nobody cares about the answer." It was her voice, but a second Osgood appeared from behind the first one. She wore a duffel coat and scarf, and her glasses didn't have the duct tape in the middle. "Gotcha!"

"Oh, look at his face." The first Osgood said as the Doctor looked between them in shock.

"It's almost not fair."

"But I don't... I don't... How, how?" The Doctor stuttered.

The first Osgood raised a brow. "Oh, think it through, Doctor."

"Well, it wouldn't be right, would it?" The second Osgood added.

"To carry on using Clara's face-"

"-When there's a vacancy."

Now the Doctor got it. "Zygella?"

"Osgood!" One of them said.

"But which one of you-"

"Osgood!" They both said together before they took turns again. "It doesn't matter which of us is which."

"All that matters is that Osgood lives."

"And nothing's going to stop us!"

The Doctor smiled. "You're a credit to your species, Petronella Osgood."

"No, Basil." The first Osgood said.

"We're a credit to both of them." The second added.

"Oh, and you should know. I'm a very big fan." The Doctor moved to the Tardis door, Ember about to follow.

Ember paused when one of the Osgoods spoke again. "Actually, can we talk with you for a moment, Ember?"

"Um, ok..." the brunette nodded to the Doctor to get him to go into the Tardis, and then she turned to the twins. "What's up?"

"Well, for starters, Claudette says hello," The second Osgood replied. "And thank you for your help. She's more than willing to help make sure that the ceasefire stands."

Ember nodded. "That's good. I wish I could have saved both of them."

"You protected as many as you could, wether they're Zygon or human." The first Osgood said, glancing at her double and getting a nod. "And to show our appreciation... I want to tell you something."

She leaned forward so she could whisper something in Ember's ear. When she stepped back, the brunette stared at her in surprise.

"Why would you tell me that?" She asked.

Osgood smiled. "I said I'd answer that question when no one cares about the answer. The whole time, you were telling everyone else that it didn't matter if I was human or Zygon. If anyone should know, it's you."

Ember felt her eyes brim with tears, touched by the gesture. "Thank you."

She turned and stepped into the Tardis, and the blue box faded away with its trademark wheezing.

The first Osgood turned to her twin. "Ice creams?"

"Yes, ice creams." The second one replied. "Then back to work."

"What's today?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old. Defending the Earth."

"Actually," a new voice made them turn to see someone stood leaning back against a nearby tree. The shade from the branches and unexplained shadows hid their idetinity, but the voice was female. "There's something to sort out first. There's one thing telling you two apart, and I'm here to rectify that."

The first Osgood blinked before she smiled. "So that's what you meant before, when you said-"

The unknown newcomer raised a finger to her lips. "Spoilers."

* * *

Back in the Tardis, Clara had decided that she needed to shower. She might not have been conscious for most of the time, but she felt the effects of being kept in a Zygon pod.

That left Ember and the Doctor in the console room. Things were quiet for a while, but the Doctor could sense that the brunette had something on her mind. "What are you thinking about?"

Ember glanced over at him from where she was on the upper galley, him being by the console. She debated avoiding it, but knew that it would only nag her until she let it out. "A couple of things, actually. First, the way I acted in the Black Archive. I knew it would be alright, that they'd stop, but... I suddenly felt this... crushing sadness at the thought of another war. Why?"

"Like I said earlier. You're older than me, which is a rarity in itself. You've probably seen much more than I can even imagine."

"You said something about memories. How they're not truly gone. Just locked away. Was I feeling something from my past?"

"Most likely," the Doctor walked up the steps to reach her side. "You were running on adrenaline, having not long gave your first mark to someone."

Ember looked up at him. "You weren't surprised to see that mark, but you were surprised when I told you I'd never done it before. Was that adrenaline too? How often have I done that?"

The Doctor sighed. "I don't know exactly how many you've marked. But you only mark those you believe deserve it. And they're not always the same. There's a pattern: the more feathers that are incorporated into the mark, the higher importance they are to you."

"What's the highest count?"

"One feather is, like I explained earlier, a right of passage. There's only one time you've given out a symbol that was more than four feathers."

Ember blinked. "What was that? And who did I give it to?"

The Doctor smiled, raising his right hand to pull down the collar of his shirt. Ember would have blushed at the sight of his bared skin if it wasn't for what else was there; a patch of blackened skin above his left heart that looked like an elegant wing or a sideways, stylised letter f...

With a start, Ember realised where she'd seen that mark: it was on the Tenth Doctor, when they'd slept together. Now, however, she recognised the symbol as part of the language she could now read. "_I_ gave that to you?!"

"Yes. I can't tell you when or where." The Doctor let go of his shirt and took both of Ember's hands in his, making sure she was listening to him. "Ember, this is important. You've just found out that you're part Eternal. This has opened so many doors for the future, one of them your new ability to read your language. Another one of them is your limits. Your powers are going to appear more quickly now, and the ones you already have are going to get stronger. That's not all: your instincts are going to get stronger as well. It's not going to be easy, and there are going to be times that you'll be afraid. But I promise you, right now; you will never be alone. I wish you wouldn't have to face what's ahead, but I'll always be there for you."

Ember closed her eyes as he leaned down to kiss her, gladly taking the comfort. She wasn't given the chance to think over the words, as a familiar burning sensation began to build up within her.

The Doctor pulled back with a sad smile, knowing that she was leaving. "Be strong, Ember. The next one is going to be rough, but you can do it, and something wonderful will come after."

She jumped before she could ask what he meant.

* * *

And there we have it! Hope you enjoyed!

Um, slight side note: I looked back on the chapter 'Family of Blood', and I realised that I'd left out a detail that I thought I'd put in. I guess it hadn't saved when I thought it had. I've fixed it, so if you read that chapter before now (10/3/2020) it's now there. If you've read it after that date, don't worry, you already saw it.

You'll find it in the last scene of the chapter, but it basically points out the mark that the Doctor just showed Ember. I do intend to post drawings of the symbols for you to get a better idea of what they look like, but I'm not sure how long that'll take, so please bear with me.

Next Time: Ember takes a big leap in her powers to help the Doctor, and it almost costs her. Will it be worth it? Stay tuned!


	30. Chapter 30: The Wedding of River Song

Ok, and here's the last chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Note: _Paragraphs in italic like this are flashbacks of the past. You'll know when you see them._

Ok, here we go!

* * *

Chapter 30: The Wedding of... River Song?

* * *

London. But not the London that it should be. This one had steam trains running on aerial tracks through the Zurich Re building, cars carried by balloons. There are reports of sunspot activity, solar flares and thunderstorms without rain causing interference across all radio signals, and even Pterodactyls flew over children playing in Hyde Park.

A Roman centurion in a chariot was waiting at traffic lights and the headline on the Londinium Cotide is 'War of the Roses enters second year.'

Definitely not how London should have been.

In the Buckingham Senate, Winston Churchill, the Holy Roman Emperor, had arrived via his own personal mammoth, and was now having his blood pressure checked by his Silurian male nurse.

"Not too many late nights in Gaul, I hope." The nurse said. If one would remember, this alien might have been called Malohkeh.

"Just the one." Churchill replied. "I had an argument with Cleopatra. Dreadful woman. Excellent dancer."

"I can tell from your blood pressure."

"What time do you have, doctor?"

Malohkeh checked his watch. "Two minutes past five, Caesar."

"It's always two minutes past five. Day or night, it's always two minutes past five in the afternoon. Why is that?"

"Because that is the time, Caesar."

"And the date. It's always the twenty second of April. Does it not bother you?"

"The date and the time have always been the same, Caesar. Why should it start bothering me now?"

Churchill stood. "I want to see the Soothsayer. Where is he?"

"In the Tower, where you threw him the last time."

"Get him."

In a short amount of time, a bedraggled figure in a toga and shackles was almost dragged in.

"Leave us." Churchill commanded, waiting until it was just him and the shackled figure before he spoke again. "Tick tock goes the clock, as the old song says. But they don't, do they? The clocks never tick. Something has happened to time. That's what you say. What you never stop saying. All of history is happening at once. But what does that mean? What happened? Explain to me in terms that I can understand: What happened to time."

The figure lifted his head, and revealed himself to be the Eleventh Doctor with a thick beard. He only spoke two words.

"A woman."

* * *

_When Ember had jumped next, she ended up with the Eleventh Doctor, and found out very quickly what he was up to. Though she was anxious, she agreed to help._

_The two of them were on a disabled spaceship that was badly damaged, but still had one survivor._

_"Imagine you were dying." The Doctor spoke aloud as they approached the survivor. "Imagine you were afraid and a long way from home and in terrible pain. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, you looked up and saw the face of the devil himself." He was wearing a Stetson, so it was then that he lifted his head so his face could be seen. "Hello, Dalek."_

_"And if that wasn't enough, what about your worst nightmare?" Ember added. "Not one, but both of your most fierce predators. Hi."_

_The Dalek they were talking to was on its side,_ _unable to move or defend itself. "Emergency! Emergency! Weapon system disabled! Emergency!"_

_"Hush, now." The Doctor said as he opened the top of the casing. "I need some information from your data core. Everything the Daleks know about the Silence."_

_Ember only watched as the Dalek continued to scream._

* * *

_On another planet - Calisto B - a cloaked figure made his way across the docks and into a seedy bar. The place gave a nostalgic feel of the pirates era on Earth._

_Not long after the cloaked figure entered, two other people did. One in a Stetson while the other wore a singed denim jacket with a lesser-singed hood attached. It was the Doctor and Ember._

_"Gideon Vandaleur." The Doctor said as soon as they reached the bar, addressing the red-skinned barman behind the grate over the counter. "Get him. Now."_

_The barman eyed them. "Who says he's here?"_

_The Doctor's only answer was to put something on the counter; a Dalek eyestalk. The barman paled before he scurried away. The Time Lords moved to sit at a table to wait, Ember smirking when the Doctor brought out a book labelled 'Knitting for Girls' to read._

_It wasn't long before the cloaked figure from before approached and sat opposite them._

_"Father Gideon Vandaleur, former envoy of the Silence." The Doctor said, putting the book away as he looked at the man under the cloak. He noticed an eyepatch covering the right eye. "My condolences."_

_Gideon frowned. "Your what?"_

_"Gideon Vandaleur has been dead for six months." The Doctor pointed his Sonic at the man and he went unnaturally rigid. He then leaned forward so he could directly into the man's eye - and at the tiny person in it. "Can I speak to the Captain, please?" It didn't take long for the scene in the man's eye to change to show a bridge, where several tiny people were sat. "Hello again, the Teselecta time-travelling shape-changing robot powered by miniaturised people. Never get bored of that. Long time since Berlin."_

_"Doctor, what have you done to our systems?" The presumed captain asked._

_"Nothing permanent," Ember said. "Just needed you to sit still."_

_The Doctor nodded in agreement. "They'll be fine if you behave. Now, this unit can disguise itself as anyone in the universe, so if you're posing as Vandaleur, you're investigating the Silence. Tell me about them."_

_"Tell you what?"_

_"One thing. Just one. Their weakest link."_

* * *

_In a packed coliseum of sorts, the Doctor was sat in front of a chessboard. Opposite him sat a bulky man with an eyepatch. One of the chess pieces - the opponent's Queen - was crackling with electricity._

_"The crowd are getting restless." The Doctor said. "They know the Queen is your only legal move, except you've already moved it twelve times, which means there are now over four million volts running through it. That's why they call it Live Chess. Even with the gauntlet you'll never make it to Bishop Four alive."_

_The man - Gantok, as the Teselecta called him - tried to touch his queen, only to pull back when he felt the current. "I am a dead man, unless you concede the game."_

_"But I'm winning."_

_"Name your price."_

_"Information."_

_"I work for the Silence." Gantok said, making a gesture across his own throat. "They would kill me."_

_"They're going to kill me too, very soon. I was just going to lie down and take it, but you know what? Before I go, I'd like to know why I have to die."_

_"Dorium Maldovar is the only one who can help you."_

_The Doctor blinked. "Dorium's dead. The Monks beheaded him at Demon's Run."_

_"I know. Concede the game, Doctor, and I'll take you to him."_

_After a long moment, the Doctor knocked over his own king, causing the crowd to boo in disappointment. Ember was waiting by the entrance to the colluseum, away from the watchful eyes of the crowd._

* * *

_A crypt in space, known as the Charnel House, was dark and gloomy, with skulls lining every shelf and even littered on the floor. Gantok was leading the Doctor and Ember through it._

_"The Seventh Transept, where the Headless Monks keep the leftovers." He said, holding a flaming torch to guide the way. "Watch your step. There are traps everywhere."_

_The Doctor shuddered as he heard something scuttle by, pulling Ember close to him as he held a_ _flaming_ _torch of his own. "I hate rats."_

_"There are no rats in the transept."_

_"Oh, good..."_

_"The skulls eat them." As if on cue, the skulls turned on their spots to 'look' at the visitors. Ember shivered this time, letting the Doctor hold her to him as they walked. "The headless monks behead you alive, remember."_

_The Doctor blinked as they entered a small room that had boxes on pillars. "Why are some of them in_ _boxes?"_

_"Because some people are rich, and some people are left to rot. And Dorium Maldovar was always very rich."_

_The Doctor approached the box at the front and opened it, revealing a human head with blue skin. It sneezed in its sleep, making him jump slightly. "Thank you for bringing us, Gantok."_

_"My pleasure." Gantok suddenly pointed a futuristic gun at them. "It saves me the trouble of burying you. Nobody beats me at chess."_

_Ember frowned. "I'd watch my step if I were you."_

_Gantok didn't take her advice as he stepped forward, only to trigger a trap that opened a pit right below his feet. He fell with a shout into the pit, which had hundreds of skulls in it._

_"Gantok!" The Doctor cried as he and Ember knelt at the edge of the pit. The skulls below were quick to consume the man before they turned to look up at them with a hiss, making the Doctor pull Ember away and use his Sonic to close the pit._

_The sound of the trapdoor closing woke the blue head. "Hello? Is someone there?" Dorium saw them_ _and looked relieved. "Ah, Doctor. Thank God it's you. The Monks, they turned on me!"_

_"Well, I'm afraid they rather did, a bit." The Doctor said, not sure what else to say._

_"Give it to me straight, Doctor. How bad are my injuries?"_

_The Doctor hesitated. "Well-"_

_"Ha, ha! Oh, your face!"_

* * *

"This is absurd!" Churchill exclaimed. "Other worlds? Carnivorous skulls? Talking heads? I don't know why I'm listening to you."

"Because in another reality, you and I are friends." The Doctor said. "And you sense that. Just as you sense there is something wrong with time."

"You mentioned a woman. Is it this Ember?"

"Yes, I did. But it's not Ember. I'm getting to her."

"What's she like? Attractive, I assume."

"Hell, in high heels."

"Tell me more."

* * *

_Back in the Charnel House, Dorium would have shrugged if he had shoulders. The Doctor paced as the head spoke. "Oh, it's not so bad, really, as long as they get your box the right way up. I got a media-chip fitted in my head years ago, and the Wi-Fi down here is excellent, so I keep myself_ _entertained."_

_The Doctor turned to face him, getting right to the point of his visit. "I need to know about the Silence."_

_"Oh. A religious order of great power and discretion. The sentinels of history, as they like to call themselves."_

_"And they want me dead."_

_"No, not really. They just don't want you to remain alive."_

_The Doctor rolled his eyes. "That's okay, then. I was a bit worried for a minute there."_

_"You're a man with a long and dangerous past, but your future is infinitely more terrifying. The Silence believe it must be averted." The bodiless man looked at Ember. "Even though it's under your protection, apparently."_

_Ember raised a brow, but otherwise kept quiet. She could already feel that instinct spark up at the conversation of the Doctor's death; it was annoying._

_"You know, you could've told me all this the last time we met." The Doctor said tersely._

_"It was a busy day and I got beheaded."_

_"What's so dangerous about my future?"_

_"On the Fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely, or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question that must never, ever be answered."_

_The Doctor frowned thoughtfully as he checked a small notebook. "'Silence will fall when the question is asked...'"_

_"Silence must fall would be a better translation. The Silence are determined that the question will never be answered. That the Doctor will never reach_ _Trenzalore."_

_"I don't understand. What's it got to do with me?"_

_"The first question. The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight. Would you like to know what it is?"_

_"Yes." _

_"Are you sure?" Dorium asked. _

_The skulls around the room turned to face the Time Lords, the bone scraping on stone eerily. Ember levelled a glare at them. The flaming torch that Gantok had left on the wall grew a bit in size as the ground trembled a little. It was a clear warning; one that the skulls seemed to understand as they remained on their perches, one or two of them even trembling themselves._

_"Very, very sure?" Dorium checked again._

_The Doctor swallowed hard as he forced his gaze away from the skulls and to the bodiless man. "...Of course."_

_"Then I shall tell you. But on your own head be it."_ _Dorium chuckled at his own joke._

_A few minutes later, the Doctor and Ember ran into the Tardis, the former carrying the box with Dorium's head in it._

_"It's not my fault. Put me back!" The man's voice was muffled in the box as the Doctor put it on the captain's chair and began to pilot the Tardis. "Ow! I've fallen on my nose. Have you got wi-fi here? I'm bored already and my nose is hurting. We all have to die, Doctor, but you more than most. You do see that, don't you? You know what the question is now. You do see that you have to die."_

* * *

"But what was the question?" Churchill asked. "Why did it mean your death?"

"Suppose there was a man who knew a secret." The Doctor said. "A terrible, dangerous secret that must never be told. How would you erase that secret from the world? Destroy it forever, before it can be spoken."

"If I had to, I'd destroy the man."

"And silence would fall. All the times I've heard those words, I never realised it was my silence, my death. The Doctor will fall." He looked around, finding themselves out of the office and in another part of the building. "Why are we here?"

"This, this is the Senate Room."

"Why did we leave your office?"

"Well, we wanted a stroll, didn't we?"

"I think I've been running." The Doctor noticed that his breathing was slightly laboured, like he'd just sprinted, and that Churchill had a gun in his hand. "Why do you have your revolver?"

"Well, you're dangerous company, Soothsayer."

The Doctor looked at his arm to find a tally mark on his skin. "Yes. I think I am."

"Resume your story."

* * *

_"Doctor, please, open my hatch!" Dorium's voice was muffled in the still-closed box. "I've got an awful headache. Which to be honest means more than it used to. It's like some terrible weight pressing down on my-" the hatch was opened to reveal that the head was upside down. "Oh. I see."_

_Ember took pity on the bodiless man and turned the box the right way up as the Doctor spoke. "Why Lake Silencio? Why Utah?"_

_"It's a Still Point in time. Makes it easier to create a Fixed Point. And your death is a Fixed Point, Doctor. You can't run away from this."_

_"Been running all my life. Why should I stop?"_

_"Because now you know what's at stake. Why your life must end."_

_"Not today."_

_Dorium rolled his eyes as the Doctor walked off to the other side of the console. "What's the point in delaying? How long have you delayed already?"_

_Ember knelt beside the chair so she was face-to-face with him. "If I told you that you were going to die, would you sit there and wait for it?"_

_"Exactly!" The Doctor said as he picked up a phone and dialled a number. "Been knocking about. A bit of a farewell tour. Things to do, people to see. There's always more. I could invent a new colour, save the Dodo, join the Beatles." He focused on the phone when someone answered. "Hello, it's me. Get him. Tell him, we're going out and it's all on me, except for the money and driving." He looked at Dorium. "I have got a time machine, Dorium. It's all still going on. For me, it never stops. Liz the First is still waiting in a glade to elope with me. I could help Rose Tyler with her homework. I could go on all of Jack's stag parties in one night."_

_"Time catches up with us all, Doctor." Dorium said._ _Ember didn't correct him._

_"Well, it has never laid a glove on me! Hello?" He paused, and then deflated as he listened to whoever was talking in the phone. "Yes. Yes, I..."_

_Dorium was smart enough to see the change. "Doctor? What's wrong?"_

_"Nothing. Nothing. I just..." the Doctor put the phone down and looked at Ember, who nodded sadly, and then he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket to pull out several Tardis-blue envelopes. "It's time. It's time..."_

* * *

_Back in the bar on Calisto B, the Doctor slid four sealed blue envelopes across the table to the Teselecta, after asking the miniature people to take them where they needed to go._

_"Surely you could deliver the messages yourself?" The Captain in charge asked._

_"Too risky." Ember said. "And we've seen what a paradox will bring if we set it off."_

_The Doctor nodded in agreement. "It would involve crossing my own time stream. Best not. And I will not put Ember through that pain again if I can help it."_

_"According to our files, this is the end for you. Your final journey." The captain said. "We'll deliver your messages. You can depend on us."_

_"Thank you." The Doctor stood, taking Ember's hand as they turned to leave._

_"Doctor, whatever you think of the Teselecta, we are champions of law and order just as you have always been." The captain's words made them pause. "Is there nothing else we can do?"_

* * *

"Why would you do this?" Churchill asked. "Of all the things you've told me, this I find hardest to believe. Why would you invite your friends to see your death?"

"I had to die. I didn't have to die alone." The Doctor explained as he looked around nervously. "Amy and Rory. The last Centurion and the girl who waited. However dark it got, I'd turn around, and there they'd be. If it's time to go, remember what you're leaving. Remember the best. My friends have always been the best of me."

"And did you tell them this was going to happen?"

"It would help if you didn't keep asking questions." A look at his arm showed more rally marks as he muttered lowly "We don't have much time."

"And this woman you spoke of. Did you invite her?"

"Yes, she was there. River Song came twice."

* * *

_At Lake Silencio, the Doctor lay on a picnic blanket with Amy, Rory and River._

_"Napoleon gave me this bottle." He said, holding up a bottle of wine. "Well, I say gave. Threw. Salut!"_

_"Salut!" The four of them drank (though the Doctor spat out his wine) before Rory spoke. "So, when are we going to 1969? And where's Ember?"_

* * *

"Everything was in place. Ember was safe in the Tardis, protected if she were to feel pain. I only had to do one more thing. I only had to die." The Doctor said.

* * *

_The Doctor waved at an aged Delaware by his pickup, and River spotted the Impossible Astronaut. "Oh, my God."_

_"You all need to stay back." The Doctor said as he stood. "Whatever happens now, you do not_ _interfere."_

_Rory was confused. "That's an astronaut. That's an Apollo astronaut in the lake."_

_The Doctor didn't answer, walking across the space to stand beside the lake as the astronaut lifted its visor to reveal a distressed River inside. "Well, then. Here we are at last."_

_"I can't stop it." River said, the struggle clear on her face even as the suit showed no signs of it. "The suit's in control."_

_"You're not supposed to. This has to happen."_

_"Run!"_

_"I did run. Running brought me here."_

_"I'm trying to fight it, but I can't! It's too strong!"_

_"I know. It's okay. This is where I die. This is a Fixed Point. This must happen. This always happens. Don't worry. You won't even remember this. Look over there."_

_River looked to the left as far as she could, and her eyes widened as she saw herself standing there. "That's me? How can I be there?"_

_"That's you from the future, serving time for a murder you probably can't remember. My murder."_

_"Why would you do that? Make me watch?" She saw Amy and Rory too, but someone was missing. "Where's Ember?"_

_"Ember is in the Tardis." The Doctor said. "She's the only one I trust to take care of her when I'm gone. You're here so that you know this is inevitable. And you are forgiven. Always and completely forgiven."_

_"Please, Doctor, please, please just run! If not for me than for her!"_

_"I can't."_

_"Time can be rewritten!"_

_"Don't you dare. Goodbye, River." He closed his eyes, fully accepting his fate. However, when he heard the shots, he was surprised when there was no death. Tentatively he opened one eye to see_ _River smiling._

_"Hello, Sweetie." She flirted._

_"What have you done?"_

_"Well, I think I just drained my weapon systems."_

_"But this is fixed! This is a Fixed Point in time..."_

_"Fixed Points can be rewritten."_

_"No, they can't. Of course they can't. Who told you that-"_

_Everything dissolved into white._

* * *

_In the Tardis, Ember was watching the whole thing, ready to take the Tardis to pick up the Doctor as soon as his 'body' was left burning on a small boat._

_As soon as the astronaut's weapons missed the Doctor, Ember crumpled to the floor with a sharp cry. She saw a vision, only to come out of it in time to hear the Doctor tell River that it was a Fixed Point and couldn't be changed._

_"Oh, no..." was all she said just before everything dissolved into white..._

* * *

_"Ember, listen to me."_

_The brunette couldn't tell where the new voice was coming from, but she knew who it was. "Arsene?"_

_"Yes. There's not much time. You've just seen the vision, yes?"_

_"Yea, I have. But... how do I stop it?"_

_"By holding on... I'd hoped you would be stronger, but we must do this now..."_

* * *

"Well?" Churchill pressed. "What happened?"

"Nothing." The Doctor replied.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing happened. And then it kept happening. Or, if you'd prefer, everything happened at once, and it won't ever stop. Time is dying. It's going to be five oh two in the afternoon for all eternity. A needle stuck on a record..."

"A record? Good Lord, man, have you never heard of downloads?"

"Said Winston Churchill." The Doctor said. "And I don't know what happened to Ember. I can only hope she jumped before this happened."

"Gunsmoke. That's gunsmoke." Churchill suddenly sniffed the air before he looked at his gun, which was smoking. "Oh, I appear to have fired this."

The Doctor realised he was holding a spear. "We seem to be defending ourselves."

"I don't understand."

"The creatures that lead the Silence. Remarkable beings. They're memory-proof."

"But what does that mean?"

"You can't remember them. The moment you look away, you forget they were ever there." The Doctor looked at his arm, counting four tally marks. "Don't panic. In small numbers, they're not too difficult."

It was then that he saw his other arm, which was covered in tally marks. He slowly looked up at the sound of chittering, to see dozens of Silence hanging from the ceiling like bats.

Before he or Churchill could move, a grenade suddenly rolled into view. The Doctor was just able to push Churchill to one side before it went off with a loud kaboom, and suddenly several soldiers ran in.

"Go! Go! Go!" The one in charge yelled as they spread out. "Keep the Silence in sight at all times, keep your eye drives active!"

"Who the devil are you?" Churchill demanded. "Identify yourselves."

"Pond." A female voice said as a figure appeared in the smoke. "Amelia Pond."

The Doctor saw Churchill raise his gun and pushed it away. "No! She's on our side. It's okay." He looked up as Amy came into view, only to pale when he saw the eyepatch she was wearing. "No. No, Amy. Amy, why are you wearing that?"

Amy's only response was to shoot the Doctor.

* * *

When the Doctor next woke up, he was lying on a cushioned couch of a railway carriage; one that was also fashioned into an office. He looked around and found Amy stood leaning against the doorframe as a tv spoke about solar flares, sun spot activity and even the dry thunderstorms that were increasing in size, frequency and ferocity. "Amy?"

"Those stun guns aren't fun." Amy said. "I'm sorry. I wanted to avoid a long conversation. You need to get up, though. We'll be in Cairo shortly."

"Amy Pond." The Doctor said as he stood up. "Amelia Pond from Leadworth, please, listen to me. I know it seems impossible, but you know me. In another version of reality you and I were best friends. We, we travelled together. We had adventures." He stumbled against a wall, grabbing something without realising. "Amelia Pond, you grew up with a time rift in the wall of your bedroom. You can see what others can't. You can remember things that never happened. And if you try, if you really, really try, you'll be able to-" He cut himself off as he suddenly realised he was holding a model Tardis. "Oh."

He looked at the far wall to find sketches of various aliens and other things Amy had encountered on their travels - Dalek, Silurian, vampire, pirate, Weeping Angel. "Oh! Oh..."

"You look rubbish." Amy said.

"You look wonderful." He tossed the model to her.

"So do you. But don't worry, we'll soon fix that."

The Doctor grinned when he saw her hold up a familiar tweed jacket. "Oh. Geronimo."

A little later, the Doctor was shaved and dressed back into his usual outfit. He decided not to cut his hair, figuring that there wasn't a point. "Okay, you can turn round now. How do I look?"

"Cool." Amy replied from where she was sat at her desk.

"Really?"

"No."

"Cool office though. Why do you have an office? Are you a special agent boss lady? What's that mean? Not sure about the eye patch, though."

"It's not an eye patch. Time's gone wrong. Some of us noticed. There's a whole team of us working on it, you'll see."

"And you've got an office on a train. That is so cool! Can I have an office? Never had an office before. Or a train. Or a train slash office."

Amy got up from the desk and ran over to hug him tightly. "God, I've missed you!"

"Okay. Hugging and missing now. Where's the Roman?"

"You mean Rory."

"Mmm."

"My husband Rory, yeah?" Amy went over to the desk and took out a paper, showing it to him. It was a sketch of a handsome man that didn't look like Rory at all. "That's him, isn't it? I've no idea. I can't find him, but I love him very much, don't I?"

The Doctor looked at the sketch again. "Apparently."

"I have to keep doing this, writing and drawing things. It's just it's so hard to keep remembering."

"Well, it's not your fault." The Doctor said, all humour gone. He'd heard the crack of thunder outside, but when he looked out of the window, there was no sign of rain despite the clouds forming. "Time's gone wrong. Do you remember why?"

"The lakeside."

"Lake Silencio, Utah. I died."

"But then you didn't. See, I remember it twice, different ways."

"Two different versions of the same event, both happening in the same moment. Time split wide open. Now look at it. All of history happening at once."

"But does it matter? I mean, can't we just stay like this?"

"Time isn't just frozen, it's disintegrating. It will spread and spread and all of reality will simply fall apart." The Doctor had a thought. "Have you seen Ember?"

"Unfortunately... yes."

The Doctor felt dread pool in his stomach like a rock, but before he could question her further, the door to the carriage opened and in stepped a man in a soldiers uniform. To the Doctor's surprise, it was Rory, but Amy didn't seem to recognise him at all.

"Ma'am?" He said. "We're about to arrive. Eye drives need to be activated as soon as we disembark."

Amy nodded. "Good point. Thank you, Captain Williams."

The Doctor smiled. "Hello."

"Hello, sir. Pleased to meet you." Rory said.

"Captain Williams," Amy introduced, "best of the best. Couldn't live without him."

The Doctor compared the man to his sketch, and laughed as Rory left. "No."

"What is wrong?" Amy asked.

"Amy, you'll find your Rory. You always do. But you really have to look."

"I am looking."

"Oh, my Amelia Pond. You don't always look hard enough."

"Why are you older? If time isn't really passing, then how can you be ageing?"

"Time is still passing for me. Every explosion has an epicentre. I'm it. I'm what's wrong."

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm still alive."

* * *

The train crossed a viaduct into a pyramid with a Stars and Stripes on the side and the title Area 52, stopping in a storage warehouse. Thick clouds were hovering, flashes of lightning lighting up the sky.

"You have to put it on, sir." Rory said to the Doctor, who was looking at an eyepatch he'd been given.

"An eye patch. What for?"

"It's not an eye patch." Amy said for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"It's an eye drive, sir." Rory explained. "It communicates directly with the memory centres of the brain. Acts as external storage."

"Only thing that works on them." Amy added as the Doctor reluctantly put on the patch. "Because other than Ember, no living mind can remember these things."

Rory led them down the steps into a long corridor where several Silence were each in a glass chamber filled with fluid. A couple of soldiers followed. "The Silence. We've captured over a hundred of them now, all held in this pyramid."

"Yeah. I've encountered them before." The Doctor said, approaching one as it made the chittering sound. "Always wondered what they looked like. Ember probably told me more than once, but even information fades over time."

"Well, put your eye drive on and you'll retain the information." Amy said. "But only for as long as you're wearing it."

"The Silence have human servants. They all wear these."

"They'd have to."

"This way." Rory let them ahead of him as he spotted the Silence watching the Doctor intently. "They seem to be noticing you."

"Yeah, they would." The Doctor said. "So where's Ember?"

Amy shook her head before she asked her own question. "So why aren't the human race killing the Silence on sight any more?"

"That was while other reality. What are the tanks for?"

"They can draw electricity from anything." Rory explained. "It's how they attack. The fluid insulates them. And I really don't like the way they're looking at you."

"Me neither."

"Ma'am, I'm sure it's nothing, but I should really check this out. They haven't been this active in a while." Rory turned to the other soldiers. "You two, upstairs. Check all the tank seals. Then the floors above. Get everyone checking."

"Sir."

Rory turned back to Amy. "You go ahead, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Captain Williams. Doctor, this way."

The Doctor followed Amy down the hall. "Captain Williams, nice fellow. What's his first name?"

"Captain." Amy said without missing a beat. "Just through here."

"Just give us a moment." He said, pausing and stepping back. "Just need to check something, Ma'am."

He gave her a clumsy salute before he went back the way they came to talk to Rory.

He didn't see or hear her as Amy put her hand on a hidden microphone on her lapel. "We're in. He's on his way. How is she?"

_"Her condition is steady, but still declining."_ A male voice said in an earpiece hidden by her hair._ "She insisted that she can hold out, but I doubt she'll make it another day."_

"Roger that. I'll speed things up." Amy said before she turned to go after the Doctor, finding him just as he finished talking to Rory. "Come on, Doctor. Time for you to meet some old friends."

She led him to what might once have been the central burial chamber of the pyramid, but now had computer banks and screens: the control room. There were several soldiers around as well as people in white lab coats.

_"__Attention all personnel."_ Rory's voice could be heard on speakers. _"Please check all assigned containment units."_

A lady in a white coat walked over to a woman stood in the centre of the room. "You were right. Just his presence in the building caused the loop to extend by nearly four chronons."

The clock now read 05:02:57, 58, 59... and then back to 57 to go over again.

"Hi, honey. I'm home." The Doctor quipped, recognising the woman.

It was River, also wearing an eye drive as she turned to face him. "And what sort of time do you call this?"

She stepped aside to reveal that Madam Kovarian was tied to a chair in the centre of the room, in a taped square with a sign that prohibited going into the square: the same sign that was used when the Doctor had been restrained by Canton.

"The death of time. The end of time. The end of us all." Kovarian said, glaring at the Doctor. "Oh, why couldn't you just die?"

"Did my best, dear. I showed up. You just can't get the psychopaths these days." The Doctor shot back as he wandered around the room. "Love what you've done with the pyramids. How did you score all this?"

"Hallucinogenic lipstick." River replied. "Works wonders on President Kennedy. And Cleopatra was a real pushover."

"I always thought so."

"She mentioned you."

"What did she say?"

"Put down that gun."

"Did you?"

"Eventually."

"Oh, they're flirting." Kovarian groaned. "Do I have to watch this?"

River smirked. "It was such a basic mistake, wasn't it, Madame Kovarian. Take a child, raise her into a perfect psychopath, introduce her to the Doctor and Ember. Who else was I going to fall in love with?"

"It's not funny, River." The Doctor said, dropping the humour. "Reality is fatally compromised. Tell me you understand that."

"Dinner?"

"I don't have the time. Nobody has the time, because as long I'm alive, time is dying. Because of you, River."

"Because I refused to kill the man I love." River said. "And if that wasn't enough of a reason, it would kill the woman I love."

"Oh, you love me, do you? Oh, that's sweet of you. Isn't that sweet? Come here, you!"

Amy saw him move. "Get him!"

A couple of soldiers grabbed the Doctor, stopping him from reaching River even as she smiled sadly at him. "I'm not a fool, sweetie. I know what happens if we touch." She let her guard down for a moment, and the Doctor took advantage and was able to grab her arm. "Get off me. Get him off me! Doctor, no. Let go! Please Doctor, let go!"

"It's moving." A woman called from where she was watching the clock start moving. "Time's moving!"

"Get him off me! Doctor!"

"I'm sorry, River." The Doctor said as he saw a flashback of the lakeside. "It's the only way."

The soldiers managed to separate them, River stepping back and looking at Amy as the redhead listened to her earpiece. "Cuff him."

The Doctor groaned as his hands were cuffed behind his back. "Oh, why do you always have handcuffs? It's the only way. We're the opposite poles of the disruption."

"Bring her in," Amy's command made him look at her as she spoke into the comm on her lapel. "Doctor, I'm sorry, but you need to see this."

There was a moment as the Doctor was about to ask what she meant, but the words died in his throat as a door to the side opened and three people came in: a male and a female in lab coats, and the former was pushing a wheelchair while the latter was guiding an IV pole with several drip bags hanging from it.

It was seeing the person sitting in the wheelchair that made the Doctor's hearts feel like they'd stopped in his chest. It was Ember, but the young woman looked so frail and weak, like a cancer patient at the losing end of the fight. She wore a breathing mask over her mouth and nose and had the drip bags leading to needles in her elbows and left hand. The wheelchair had extra padding and a pillow behind her head, but it looked like she was still uncomfortable. She only wore simple white hospital scrubs that didn't cover her pale arms.

"...What?" The Doctor finally got a word out as the obviously ill brunette was brought to the centre of the room.

"Oh, is your dying Ember so much that you can't speak?" Kovarian teased. "Well, if you had just died, she'd be fine, wouldn't she?"

The Doctor couldn't take his eye off Ember, not even to snap at the restrained woman. "Ember... oh, Ember..."

To his surprise, she responded: her eyes opened just enough to see him with pale, grey orbs that were so different from the liquid silver he was used to seeing. The pupils were barely visible. "Doc... tor..."

The male that had pushed the wheelchair looked surprised as he put two fingers on the brunette's wrist. "That's the first time in days she's responded to someone. And her pulse has steadied a little. It's like... you're somehow giving her strength..."

The Doctor so badly wanted to touch her, to hold her and protect her, but he knew better. "So that's it. That's how this reality has stayed stable all this time. Ember's been holding it together... with herself."

"What?" Amy asked, puzzled. "Ember's doing this? But you said it was because you're alive..."

"This reality is falling apart because I'm alive," The Doctor corrected, shifting anxiously. "But Ember... she's the one holding it together. She's the reason that we're all still here. But why?"

"Doc... tor..."

The Time Lord turned at the weak call of his name, moving to kneel in front of the frail brunette as close as he could without touching her. "Ember, can you hear me? What happened?"

Ember took several deep breaths as she struggled to keep her eyes open, but she was already trying to move. "Saw... vision... every... thing... gone..."

"A vision?" The Doctor's eyes widened as he pieced it together. "Oh... you saw a vision. Everything gone... it collapsed instantly. We would have all died the moment the Fixed Point was changed. But you... you're using all your power to hold it together. It's smushed up and time can't move, but you're holding it. But look at you... it's tearing you apart to hold this reality together. Why are you doing this?"

"Need... time..." Ember rasped. "To fix... this..."

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, Ember. You warm, selfless woman. You're bending the laws of nature to save the universe. Did you want a hug?"

He was surprised again when Ember weakly shook her head, shifting as though she could move away from him. "Not... yet... not... time yet..."

"She was saying before that she was buying us time," River said softly. "We've tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn't. I can't touch her, because it hurts her..."

"Of course it would," The Doctor said as he stood and reluctantly turned away from Ember. "I just told you, we're the poles of the disruption. Physical contact with either one of us is painful to her because she's using her very life force to hold this shattered world together, but she can't do it forever. You must know about the thunderstorms outside; that's a side effect of her manipulating the elements. But if we touch at the same time, we short out the differential. She can let go, and time can begin again."

"And I'll be by a lakeside killing you."

"And time won't fall apart. The clocks will tick. Reality will continue. There isn't another way."

"I didn't say there was, sweetie. There are so many theories about you and I, you know..."

"Idle gossip."

"Archaeology."

"Same thing." The Doctor shot back.

"Am I the woman who marries you, or the woman who murders you?"

"I don't want to marry you."

"I don't want to murder you."

Amy flinched as she felt something wet drip onto her head.

"This is no fun at all." Doctor said.

"It isn't, is it?" River agreed.

Amy felt another drop of water. "Doctor, what's that?"

"The pyramid above us. How many Silence do you have trapped inside it?"

"None." Everyone looked at Kovarian. "They're not trapped. They never have been. They've been waiting for this, Doctor. For you."

Rory burst into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. "They're out! All of them! No one gets in here! Ma'am, my men out there should be able to lock this down. We have them outnumbered."

"And you're wearing eye drives based on mine, I think." Kovarian said slyly. "Oops..."

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked.

"Take... off..." Ember gasped. It seemed that the longer she was near the Doctor, the more coherent she was becoming, though she was still very weak.

One of the female scientists suddenly cried out in pain as her eye patch began to spark.

"Help her! Help her!" The Doctor yelled, unable to do it himself with his hands cuffed.

Amy ran to the woman's side as she collapsed, but then then she looked up at the Doctor. "..,she's dead."

Several other people began to cry out as their patches began to shock them. Then the Doctor's own patch began to spark. "Eye drives off now! Remove them!"

Amy took the Doctor's eye drive off for him, but then her own sparked up, making her cry out.

"The Silence would never allow an advantage without taking one themselves." Kovarian smirked. "The effects will vary from person to person. Either death or debilitating agony. But they will take you all, one by one." She was surprised when her own eye drive began to spark. "What are you doing? No, it's me. Don't be stupid. You need me! Stop it! Stop that!"

The Doctor turned to River as she helped Amy take off her eye drive. "We could stop this right now, you and I."

"Get it off me!"

"Amy, tell her!"

"We've been working on something." Amy said. "Just let us show you."

"There's no point. There's nothing you can do. My time is up!"

"We're doing this for you!"

"Then people are dying for me. _Ember_ is dying for me. I won't thank you for that, Amelia Pond."

"Just let us show you." River insisted.

Amy gave him her most sincere look. "Please. Captain Williams, how long do we have?"

"Uh, a couple of minutes."

"That's enough." River said, turning to the Doctor. "We're going to the Receptor Room right at the top of the pyramid. I hope you're ready for a climb."

The Doctor had started to follow, only to stop when he saw Ember. "I'm not going anywhere without her."

River looked conflicted. "She can't even walk in that condition, and neither of us can carry her."

"Then perhaps I can be of assistance?"

River and the Doctor turned at the new voice, quickly recognising the red-cloaked stranger as he stepped out of the shadows. Arsene.

"You." The Doctor said, eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"This is a great disturbance to the Balance." The hooded man explained calmly. "A Fixed Point has been altered, and all of reality is falling apart."

The Doctor almost growled. "It isn't just a disturbance: this is all out torn to bits! Why aren't you stopping it?!"

"Because I cannot interfere. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that. I was pushing it by showing her how she could buy you time." Arsene moved to Ember's side and began to remove the IV drips from her arms. "Ember is holding this fracturing reality together by the elements that she's awoken to so far, but she is not yet strong enough to do it for an extended period of time. She does not have long left."

River's face was a calm mask. "Then bring her, and follow us."

With Arsene carrying Ember bridle style, the four of them made their way to the top of the pyramid, though Amy and Rory lagged behind for their own reasons.

Instead of the cap of the pyramid, the top was open to the sky, where a contraption was sending a beam straight up. Luckily, the clouds and lightning above were not impeding the beam, despite how violent they were becoming.

"What's this?" The Doctor asked as the Arsene sat Ember against the wall. "Oh, it's a timey-wimey distress beacon. Who built this?"

"I'm the child of the Tardis. I understand the physics." River shrugged. "And Ember told me to build it."

"But that's all you've got, a distress beacon?"

"I've been sending out a message. A distress call. Outside the bubble of our time, the universe is still turning, and I've sent a message everywhere. To the future and the past, the beginning and the end of everything. 'The Doctor is dying. Please, please help'."

The Doctor groaned in frustration. "River! River, this is ridiculous. That would mean nothing to anyone. It's insane! Worse, it's stupid! You embarrass me."

Amy and Rory joined them, the former speaking. "We barricaded the door. We've got a few minutes." She spotted the extra person. "Who's that?"

"Friend of Ember's, long story." River said quickly.

"Alright. Just tell him. Just tell him, River."

"Those reports of the sun spots and the solar flares. They're wrong." River explained. "There aren't any. It's not the sun, it's you. The sky is full of a million, million voices saying 'yes, of course we'll help'. You've touched so many lives, saved so many people. Did you think when your time came, you'd really have to do more than just ask? You've decided that the universe is better off without you, but the universe doesn't agree."

There was a loud crack of thunder as a streak of electricity shot across the sky, striking the ground miles away. As there was no rain to accompany it, the area it had struck caught fire. Ember flinched and whimpered as Arsene looked out at the landscape. "The Elements are clashing. We're running out of time."

"River, no one can help me." The Doctor tried to reason with her. "A Fixed Point has been altered. Time is disintegrating."

"I can't let you die."

"But I have to die-"

"Shut up! I can't let you die without knowing you are loved by so many, and so much, and by no one more than her."

The Doctor hesitated, glancing at Ember. The weakened brunette was struggling to get in a proper breath, even as Arsene was attempting to soothe her. "River, you and I, we know what this means. We are ground zero of an explosion that will engulf all reality. Billions on billions will suffer and die."

"I'll suffer if I have to kill you."

"More than every living thing in the universe?"

"Yes." River said without a beat. "Because I love both you too much to allow either one of you to be without the other. Don't you see? She's holding this all together because she wanted to save you. It breaks my heart to see her in pain, but it would be tenfold if she was forced to live on without you. And the worst part of it is... she doesn't even know you feel the same way."

That made the Doctor pause again. "What?"

Arsene put his hand on Ember's forehead, ignoring her feverish brow as he concentrated.

"I am lending her some of my energy to give her more time," he explained as the Doctor approached.

"I thought you couldn't interfere," River pointed out.

Arsene's lips twitched into a slight smile. "If there is one thing I've learned from watching over Ember, it is that when you can't break the rules, you can sometimes bend them." He looked at the Doctor. "This should be enough for her to tell you her real reason for doing this."

The Doctor looked puzzled. "Ember?"

The brunette took a weakened, but deep breath before she spoke. "I had to... I couldn't... let you down again... not like... I did with Rose... and her..."

"Oh, Ember..." The Doctor breathed, knowing that she was referring to River, but she wasn't done.

"You should hate me... because I didn't save them... and you're reminded of that... every time you look at me..." she panted. "But now... now, I... can make it up to you..."

"By using your own life force to hold this world together," the Doctor finished. "But why are you still doing it? We can fix it right now, you know we can, so why are you holding back?"

Ember shifted slightly as her tired silver eyes drifted to River. "So you could... you could..."

"This whole event is in an episode that was titled 'The Wedding of River Song'." Arsene said, making everyone look at him in surprise. "But River is not the one you want, is it, Doctor? Now it's your turn to tell her the truth."

The Doctor bit his lip as he looked at Ember again, seeing her now looking at him in confusion. The sky rumbled threateningly, but there was no lightning this time. "Oh, Ember... you shouldn't believe everything you see on television. Especially that show..."

"...what...?"

River moved around the beacon to kneel beside the Doctor, making sure they didn't touch. "Ember, Sweetie... I don't want to marry the Doctor. I love you both, but even I can see it so clearly."

"Even when you didn't want to," Amy added, moving to stand behind the Doctor and give him a light kick to the backside that made him nearly fall on the brunette. "Tell her, idiot."

"I'm not sure I completely understand." Rory said.

"We got married and had a kid and that's her." The redhead nodded to River.

"Oh. Okay."

"Amy, uncuff me now." The Doctor's voice was soft, but left no room to argue as Amy swiftly unlocked the cuffs keeping his hands behind his back. Another shot of lightning struck the ground closer to the pyramid, reminding them that they were on borrowed time. "Okay, I need a strip of cloth about a foot long. Anything will do. Never mind." He quickly undid his bow tie and pulled it off his neck. "River, take the middle of this. Hold it tight and don't let go."

"What am I doing?" River asked even as she complied.

"As you're told. Now, we're in the middle of a combat zone, so we'll have to do the quick version." He draped the other end of the bow tie over Ember's hand, which Arsene had turned palm up. "Ember, you do the same on that end as I do on this one."

The brunette blinked up at him, confusion marking her face even as Arsene did the wrapping for her in her weakness. "What... I don't... understand..."

"Ember..." The Doctor gave her a warm smile as he wrapped the other end of the fabric around his own hand. "Did you really believe that whenever I see that scar I think of you as a failure? You couldn't be more wrong; that scar reminds me every day that you are a wonderful woman who has put others before herself more times than anyone will ever know. You're brave, you're selfless, and most of all... you saved me."

Ember couldn't look away from his gaze, though her hand closed around the fabric with all the strength it had. "But... I... me?"

"Yes, you, if you'll have me." He held his breath for a moment, and then continued when she showed no sign of rejection, his confidence growing with each word. "You are the light that drove away the darkness in my hearts, the balm that soothed my pain, and the one thing I cannot live without. I don't want to lose you..." He moved as close as he could without touching her. "Arsene, you'll have to take place as the father, since hers isn't here and you're the closest to it. Say 'I consent and gladly give'."

Arsene spoke without hesitation. "I consent and gladly give."

The Doctor glanced at River, who understood instantly. "I consent and gladly give. But you'd better not break her hearts, Doctor, because if you do..."

"Wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor replied firmly before focusing on the surprised brunette in front of him. "Ember. I've always wondered when I told you this, but now I know. I'm about tell you something and you have to remember it very, very carefully, and tell no one."

He leaned close so he could whisper in her ear, still careful not to make physical contact. Ember expected him to say 'look into my eye' like he'd done in the show, but instead he spoke only one word: a word she couldn't possibly pronounce without practice, and one that she instinctively knew was important. She pulled back to stare at him with wide eyes. "What was...?"

"I just told you my name." The Doctor said softly, making her eyes widen further if possible and stealing what little breath she had. He then looked at River. "As our First Witness, I have a request, so look into my eye because I'll only say it once. This world and my new wife are dying and it's my fault, and I can't bear it another day. Please. Help me."

"Then what are you waiting for?" River said with a smile after seeing what she was supposed to see. To add to Ember's surprise, it wasn't a sad or forced smile: it was one to be expected at a wedding. "You may kiss the bride."

The Doctor looked back at Ember, smiling softly at the tears on her face. "I'll make it a good one."

"You'd better."

The Doctor leaned in and gently kissed her, and at the same time looped the fabric so that all three of their hands made contact. Another rumble of thunder boomed above them and Ember gasped, coherent long enough to feel the rain that suddenly started pelting down before the world went white.

The clock started moving forward as the Doctor died and was cremated. The steam railways and cars on balloons vanished from London. The pterodactyls disappeared.

And everything was alright again.

* * *

Ember sat up with a gasp. She was back in the Tardis, completely healthy again, and back in her outfit before time was messed up. She climbed to her feet quickly and looked at the monitor, where Amy, River, Rory and an elderly Delaware were sending the Doctor's 'body' to burn on a small boat in the middle of the lake. She waited until they left before she sprang into action, flipping levers and pressing buttons as she'd been practising so that the Tardis appeared inside the Teselecta that was masquerading as the Doctor. A moment later, the Doctor himself - safe and without so much as a scorch on him - burst through the doors and closed them behind him, running up to help Ember pilot them away and somewhere safe.

Once things had settled, Ember turned to the Doctor. "Did we just... I mean, what did... How..."

The Doctor smiled fondly as he walked up to her and took her hands, making her fall silent. "Let's answer that in order. Did we just get married? Yes. What did I do? I married you. How? We did it by a quick version of a ceremony from Gallifrey. Any more questions?"

"... you were supposed to marry River," Ember weakly argued, blushing as the Doctor carefully pinned her between himself and the console behind her.

"On tv, yes," he said, letting go of her left hand so he could brush the backs of his fingers over her cheek, gently tracing the scar. "But this isn't tv. And you weren't there."

"But... When?" Ember found herself asking. "When did you... I mean, how did you..."

"I had an idea not long before I first regenerated in front of you." He admitted, a light blush on his face to match hers. "I didn't say anything at the time because I didn't want you to think it was the regeneration sickness talking."

"And then...?" Ember asked. "When did you... I mean, how long...?"

"Not long after that. A close friend told me to, how did they say it... ah. 'Grow a pair and tell her already'. When I did, you told me that you already knew. You even knew my name. Oh, how it warmed my hearts to hear you say it..."

"But after what I did..."

The Doctor stopped her by putting a finger against her lips. "You tried to save me from the pain of losing a companion. I don't blame you at all for the loss. And Rose isn't dead: she's thriving and living a life. You've nothing to be ashamed of."

"What about River? In The Library..."

"She knew that it would have broken my hearts if you had taken her place. And you heard her; she loves us both too much to see one of us without the other."

Ember shifted slightly, noticing how the Doctor was still practically pinning her to the console with his own body. Instead of feeling uncomfortable, it actually felt nice. "Um... we should get to work..."

"We should," the Doctor agreed, though he didn't move. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to kiss my new wife now that she isn't busy holding the world together."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. She remained frozen for several seconds as he kissed her, and for a moment his hearts sank. But then she shyly kissed him back and his hearts backtracked to pound so hard in his chest that he was sure someone would hear them. Without looking, he moved his free arm to circle her waist and pull her closer, making her gasp and giving him the opening to deepen the kiss.

Ember was very glad that she was Time Lord enough to have the respiratory bypass, or she'd have passed out from the lack of air. As it was, she was already feeling light-headed.

After what felt like an eternity, the Doctor gently ended the kiss, pulling back and smiling when he saw her dazed eyes and bruising lips. "Now there's a look I'm familiar with..."

"O-oi!" She lightly slapped his arm, making him chuckle. "Wow. I'm... really married..."

"Oh!" The Doctor rummaged around in his pockets before he found what he was looking for; a ring. "I can finally give you this!"

Ember looked at the ring. It was a simple silver hand, with what looked like a modest-sized diamond set into it, but when she looked closely she could see Gallifreyan circular symbols etched into the surface of the metal. "I still can't read it. What does it say?"

The Doctor traced a finger over the symbols. "It says 'Two hearts, one love, my only', and here-" He turned it slightly so that she could see more symbols on the inside of the band. "-it says 'Ember plus Doctor forever'."

"That's kinda sappy," Ember said, smiling as the Doctor gently took her left hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. "But at the same time, really romantic. Wait, won't the past you see this?"

"That's the beauty of it." The Doctor said, lifting her hand and gently kissing it. "I used the Tardis to modify it after I got it. It has perception filter, one that can't be seen unless you know it's there. If I didn't see it, I knew it meant you didn't have it yet. When I told you how I feel the first time, you showed it to me, so you'll know when to do it. But do you recognise the diamond?"

Blinking, Ember looked at the ring again. Come to think of it, something about it _was_ familiar. "Um..."

"I'll give you a hint. It came from Gallifrey."

"Wait, that's..." Ember looked up at him in shock. "A White Point Star? But the only time I saw one of those was..."

"Shh..." The Doctor put a finger against her lips to hush her again. "Spoilers. Something to look forward to, eh?"

Ember's blush was so strong she was sure she was a red beacon by now. "C-come on, we still have loose ends to tie up."

With a groan of disappointment, he reluctantly let her go, turning to help her pilot the Tardis.

* * *

In the dark catacombs of the Charnel house, a robed figure was carrying a square box while a second figure led the way with a lit torch.

"Who's carrying me?" The voice of Dorium yelled from inside the box. "I demand to know! I'm a head, I have rights! I want my doors open this time. I demand that my doors are open!"

The figures reached the pedestal that the box was originally found on and returned it, opening the box before they turned to leave without a word.

Dorium saw them quickly. "Is it you? It is, isn't it? It is you, I can sense it! But how did you do it? How could you possibly have escaped?"

The figures pulled down their hoods to reveal the Doctor and Ember, the former dropping the robe to the ground.

"The Teselecta." The Doctor replied. "A Doctor in a Doctor suit. Time said I had to be on that beach, so I dressed for the occasion. Barely got singed in that boat."

"So you're going to do this?" Dorium asked. "Let them all think you're dead?"

"It's the only way, then they can all forget me. I got too big, Dorium. Too noisy. And it almost cost me something priceless." He took Ember's hand in his own, smirking at her blush. "Time to step back into the shadows. Besides, we have a honeymoon to get to."

"And Doctor Song, in prison all her days?"

"Her days, yes. Her nights? Well, that's between her and us, eh?"

"So many secrets, Doctor. I'll help you keep them, of course."

"Well, you're not exactly going anywhere, are you?" The Doctor quipped as he turned and led Ember away.

"But you're a fool nonetheless. It's all still waiting for you. The fields of Trenzalore, the fall of the Eleventh, and the question."

"Goodbye, Dorium."

"The first question. The question that must never be answered, hidden in plain sight!" The bodiless man called after them. "The question you've been running from all your life! Doctor who? Doctor who? DOCTOR... WHO?!"

* * *

Aaaaand that's it! The end of the second series!

Hope you enjoyed it, and hope you come back for Series Three! There's gonna be more surprises and a few unique adventures for Ember.

As I did before, I'll post an additional 'update' chapter here so that those of you who've added this to your alert list will know when it's up. That's where I'll also post the preview for the next series.

If things go according to plan, the update will be next Monday, but be warned; there is a slight chance that it'll take a few days longer. This is for two reasons: one, personal life getting in the way. Two, because I'm slightly torn over which adventure to start the next series on - I've narrowed it down to between 3 episodes, but I'll need to think about where they'd fit before I'm comfortable with posting them.

If you have any questions, please ask. I'll answer to the best of my ability in the 'update' chapter, though I can't guarantee I can give too much away without spoiling it.

Ps: if you were hoping for details on the honeymoon, that will be put in the separate work where I plan to put the... less than innocent stuff. I'll be happy to add a clean version on here if you want though.

See you soon!

* * *

Coming up next in the Storms of Fire Saga...

Storms of Fire: The Phoenix Rises


	31. Storms of Fire 3 Coming Soon!

I'm so sorry, everyone. Due to the circumstances, I've had to delay posting the first chapter of Season 3. I'm planning to start it in the next week or so (I originally wanted to start it a week ago, but circumstances have made it a bit difficult - I'm one of the few key workers still having to go to work despite the epidemic that's happening, so I'm kinda finding my energy and time stretched).

When I get it posted, I'll post another chapter here to let you know. I hope you can forgive me for the delay in this troubling time.

Keep reading to see the preview at the end of this. But first, I'm gonna answer a few reviews/questions from the last chapter while I'm here. Some of them I'll have to shorten for space, but I encourage you to read the full reviews.

From ab70149: Can you have some original episodes for the next saga, two or three parters please?

Answer: you've read my mind! Part Three of the Saga will include some chapters of my own work! I also have some new surprises coming your way that I've decided to put in. Hope you'll enjoy them.

From bwburke94: It feels weird for the story to end on such a foreshadowed and foregone conclusion. But this isn't really the end, is it? There's a new fic on the way.

Answer: Indeed, there are still many questions and mysteries surrounding Ember, but the next Saga will answer a few. Not all of them, mind, since this is supposed to be in four seasons.

From Guest: I can't wait to see more of Arsene, it should be very interesting.

Answer: there will be more appearances from Arsene, and a few special appearances that I've decided to add after some careful thought. Hope you like the surprises coming up.

From magical fan18: This has been a great story, really fun and entertaining the way you wrote the episodes.

Answer: thank you! It's great to hear that people are enjoying my work.

From Lunammoon: I cannot stress enough how much MAD respect I have for you taking note of how many people write shit like "Don't make your OC too special uwu. It makes an Mary Sue️ which is bad" and you being like  
Cool. "This is my OC Ember. She can control all the elements and helped to create the universe. Also, she is part-Time Lord and dates the Doctor. Got an issue with that? That's unfortunately a 'you' problem." I love it and I love your writing

Answer: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

From LuciferRedeemed: Great chapter! Looking forward to more!

From Momochan77: Now I can't wait to see which adventure you pick for the start of series 3! Already love the title! See you next update!

From smilin steph: Ahhh I need the next story!

Answer: And you won't have to wait long, guys, promise!

And now here's the preview!

Coming up next in the Storms of Fire Saga:

_"Well... bet you didn't see this coming..."  
_

**So this is my world now...**

_"You, Ember... are an Eternal..."_

**Not only am I part of two of the oldest races to have existed, but I was probably the most powerful of one of them...**

_"Look at your power..."_

_"Maybe she just needs a push..."_

_"If you push her, it might be the last thing we all know..."_

**But there's such a thing as too powerful...**

_"Why are you doing this?!"_

_"Because I can! Because no one can stop me!"_

_"You could do so much, all you have to do is let go..."_

_**Everything has a price...**_

_"I could save everyone the trouble if I just wipe every stinking one of them out of existence!"_

_"Don't give in to the anger... don't let it take you..."_

_"No one else has to die! No one else has to suffer!"_

**There's a reason I'm like this... a reason I became what I am now...**

_"Will you be their salvation? Or will you stand amoung their ashes?"_

_"You did this to me?! WHY?!"_

_"She's free! God help us, she's loose!"_

**And I'm soon going to find out...**

_"The Phoenix will rise!"_

Storms of Fire: The Phoenix Rises

Hope to see you there soon!


	32. Storms of Fire Part 3 Is Up!

And finally! I can now announce that Part 3 of the Storms of Fire saga has officially begun! The first chapter is up and ready to go! Be sure to let me know what you think. Stay tuned!


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